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'ch  i  ve .  o  rg/detai  Is/h  isto  ryof  g  i  ps  ie 


A 


HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES: 


Specimens  of  tjje  ©ipso  f  anjuHge. 


By  WALTER  SIMSON. 


KDITKD,  WITH 

PREFACE,  INTRODUCTION,  AND  NOTES,  AND  A  DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE 
PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  OF  GIPSYDOM, 


By  JAMES  SIMSON. 


1  Hast  thou  not  noted  on  the  bye  way-side, 

Where  ngod  soughs  lenn  o’er  the  lazy  tide, 

A  vagrant  crew,  far  straggled  through  the  glade, 
With  trifles  busied,  or  in  slumber  laid  ; 

Their  children  lolling  round  them  on  the  grass. 

Or  pestering  with  thoir  sports  the  patient  nssl 
The  wrinkled  beldame  there  you  may  espy, 

And  ripe  young  maiden  with  the  glossy  eye ; 

Men  In  their  prime,  and  striplings  dark  and  dun, 
Scathed  by  the  storm  and  freckled  with  the  sun  ; 

Their  swarthy  hue  and  mantle’s  flowing  fold, 

Bespeak  the  remnant  of  a  race  of  old. 

Strange  are  their  annals— list  1  and  mark  them  well — 
For  thou  hast  much  to  hear  and  I  to  toll.*’ — Hoco. 


NEW  YORK: 

M.  DOOLADY,  448  BROOME  STREET. 
LONDON: 

SAMPSON  LOW,  SON  <fc  MARSTON. 

I  8  6  0. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1865, 

Bv  JAMES  SIMSON, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  tile  District  Court  of  the  United  States  for  the  Southern  District 
of  New  York. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

EDITOR’S  PREFACE .  5 

EDITOR’S  INTRODUCTION .  27 

INTRODUCTION .  55 

CHAPTER. 

I.  CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES .  69 

II.  ENGLISH  GIPSIES .  90 

III.  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES,  DOWN  TO  THE  YEAR  1715 .  9S 

IV.  LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES .  123 

V.  FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES .  140 

VI.  TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES .  165 

VII.  BORDER  GIPSIES .  236 

VIII.  MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES .  257 

IX.  LANGUAGE .  281 

X.  PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  NUMBER  OF  THE  GIPSIES 

IN  SCOTLAND .  341 

DISQUISITION  ON  THE  PAST,  PRESENT  AND  FUTURE  OF 

GIPSYDOM . 371 

INDEX . 543 

*  The  Contents  of  these  Chapters  will  be  found  detailed  in  the  Index,  forming  an 
epitome  of  the  work,  for  reference,  or  studying  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies. 


4?f59i 


Ever  since  entering  Great  Britain,  about  the  year  1506,  the 
Gipsies  have  been  drawing  into  their  body  the  blood  of  the  ordin¬ 
ary  inhabitants  and  conforming  to  their  ways ;  and  so  prolific  has 
the  race  been,  that  there  cannot  be  less  than  250,000  Gipsies  of  all 
castes,  colours,  characters,  occupations,  degrees  of  education,  cul¬ 
ture,  and  position  in  life,  in  the  British  Isles  alone,  and  possibly 
double  that  number.  There  are  many  of  the  same  race  in  the 
United  States  of  America.  Indeed,  there  have  been  Gipsies  in 
America  from  nearly  the  first  day  of  its  settlement;  for  many  of 
the  race  were  banished  to  the  plantations,  often  for  very  trifling 
offences,  and  sometimes  merely  for  being  by  “  habit  and  repute 
Egyptians.”  But  as  the  Gipsy  race  leaves  the  tent,  and  rises  to 
civilization,  it  hides  its  nationality  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  so 
great  is  the  prejudice  against  the  name  of  Gipsy.  In  Europe  and 
America  together,  there  cannot  be  less  than  4,000,000  Gipsies  in 
existence.  John  Bunyan,  the  author  of  the  celebrated  Pilgrim's 
Progress,  was  one  of  this  singular  people,  as  will  be  conclusively 
shown  in  the  present  work.  The  philosophy  of  the  existence  of 
the  Jews,  since  the  dispersion,  will  also  be  discussed  and  established 
in  it. 

When  the  “wonderful  story”  of  the  Gipsies  is  told,  as  it  ought 
to  be  told,  it  constitutes  a  work  of  interest  to  many  classes  of  read¬ 
ers,  being  a  subject  unique,  distinct  from,  and  unknown  to,  the  rest 
of  the  human  family.  In  the  present  work,  the  race  has  been  treated 
of  so  fully  and  elaborately,  in  all  its  aspects,  as  in  a  great  meas¬ 
ure  to  fill  and  satisfy  the  mind,  instead  of  being,  as  heretofore,  little 
better  than  a  myth  to  the  understanding  of  the  most  intelligent 
person. 

The  history  of  the  Gipsies,  when  thus  comprehensively  treated, 
forms  a  study  for  the  most  advanced  and  cultivated  mind,  as  well 
as  for  the  youth  whose  intellectual  and  literary  character  is  still  to 
be  formed;  and  furnishes,  among  other  things,  a  system  of  science 
not  too  abstract  in  its  nature,  and  having  for  its  subject-matter  the 
strongest  of  human  feelings  and  sympathies.  The  work  also  seeks 
to  raise  the  name  of  Gipsy  out  of  the  dust,  where  it  now  lies ; 
while  it  has  a  very  important  bearing  on  the  conversion  of  the 
Jews,  the  advancement  of  Christianity  generally,  and  the  develop¬ 
ment  of  historical  and  moral  science. 

New  York,  May  \st,  1866. 


EDITOR’S  PREFACE. 


This  work  should  have  been  introduced  to  the  world 
long  ere  now.  The  proper  time  to  have  brought  it  forward 
would  have  been  about  twenty  years  ago*  when  the  subject 
was  nearly  altogether  new,  and  when  popular  feeling,  in 
Scotland  especially,  ran  strongly  toward  the  body  it  treats 
of,  owing  to  the  celebrity  of  the  writings  of  the  great  Scot¬ 
tish  novelist,  in  which  were  depicted,  with  great  truthfulness, 
some  real  characters  of  this  wayward  race.  The  induce¬ 
ments  then  to  hazard  a  publication  of  it  were  great ;  for  by 
bringing  it  out  at  that  time,  the  author  would  have  enjoyed, 
in  some  measure,  the  sunshine  which  the  fame  of  that  great 
luminary  cast  around  all  who,  in  any  way,  illustrated  a  sub¬ 
ject  on  which  he  had  written.  But  for  Sir  Walter  Scott’s 
advice — an  advice  that  can  only  be  appreciated  by  those 
who  arc  acquainted  with  the  vindictive  disposition  which 
the  Gipsies  entertain  toward  those  whom  they  imagine 
to  have  injured  them — our  author  would  have  published  a 
few  magazine  articles  on  the  subject,  when  the  tribe  would 
have  taken  alarm,  and  an  end  would  have  been  made  to 
the  investigation.  The  dread  of  personal  danger,  there  is 
no  doubt,  formed  a  considerable  reason  for  the  work  being 
so  long  withheld  from  the  public  :  at  the  same  time,  our 
author,  being  a  timid  and  nervous  man,  not  a  little  dreaded 
the  spleen  of  the  party  opposed  to  the  literary  society  with 
which  he  identified  himself,  and  the  idea  of  being  made  the 
subject  of  one  of  the  slashing  criticisms  so  characteristic  of 
the  times.  But  now  he  has  descended  into  the  tomb,  with 
most  of  his  generation,  where  the  abuse  of  a  reviewer  or 
the  ire  of  a  wandering  Egyptian  cannot  reach  him. 

Since  this  work  was  written  there  has  appeared  one  by 

®  It  has  been  brought  down,  however,  to  the  present  time. 


G 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Mi*.  Borrow,  on  the  Gitanos  or  Spanish  Gipsies.  In  the 
year  1838,  a  society  was  formed  in  Scotland,  under  the 
patronage  of  the  Scottish  Church,  for  the  reformation  of 
the  wandering  portion  of  the  body  in  that  country,  with 
some  eminent  men  as  a  committee  of  management,  among 
whom  was  a  reverend  gentleman  of  learning*,  piety,  and 
worth,  who  said  that  lie  himself  was  a  Gipsy,  and  whose 
fine  swarthy  features  strongly  marked  the  stock  from  which 
he  was  descended.  There  are  others  in  that  country  of  a 
like  origin,  ornaments  to  the  same  profession,  and  many  in 
other  respectable  walks  of  life,  of  whom  I  will  speak  in 
my  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies,  at  the  end  of  the  work. 

Although  a  few  years  have  elapsed  since  the  principal 
details  of  this  work  ivere  collected,  the  subject  cannot  bo 
considered  as  old.  The  body  in  Scotland  has  become  more 
numerous  since  the  downfall  of  Napoleon  ;  but  the  improved 
system  of  internal  order  that  has  obtained  since  that  period, 
has  so  very  much  suppressed  their  acts  of  depredation  and 
violence  toward  the  community,  and  their  savage  outbursts 
of  passion  toward  those  of  their  own  race  who  had  offended 
them,  that  much  which  would  have  met  with  only  a  slight 
punishment  before,  or  in  some  instances  been  passed  over,  as 
a  mere  Gipsy  scuffle,  would  now  be  visited  with  the  utmost 
penalty  the  law  could  inflict.  Hence  the  wild  spirit,  but  not 
the  number,  of  the  body  has  been  very  much  crushed. 
Many  of  them  have  betaken  themselves  to  regular  callings 
of  industry,  or  otherwise  withdrawn  from  public  observa¬ 
tion  ;  but,  in  respect  to  race,  are  as  much,  at  heart,  Gipsies 
as  before.  Many  of  the  Scottish  wandering  class  have 
given  way  before  an  invasion  of  swarms  of  Gipsies  from 
Ireland. 

It  is  almost  unnecessary  to  give  a  reason  why  this  work 
has  been  introduced  here,  instead  of  the  country  in  which 
it  was  written,  and  of  which,  for  the  most  part,  it  treats. 
Suffice  it  to  say,  that,  having  come  to  this  country,  I  have 
been  led  to  bring  it  out  here,  where  it  may  receive,  sooner 
or  later,  more  attention  from  those  at  a  distance  from  the 
place  and  people  it  treats  of,  than  from  those  accustomed  to 
see  and  hear  of  them  daily,  to  many  of  whom  they  appear 
as  mere  vagabonds  ;  it  being  a  common  feature  in  the 
human  mind,  that  that  which  comes  frequently  under  our 
observation  is  but  little  thought  of,  while  that  at  a  distance, 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


r 


and  unknown  to  us,  forms  the  subject  of  our  investigations 
and  desires.*  In  taking  this  view  of  the  subject,  the  lan¬ 
guage  of  Dr. .  Bright  may  be  used,  when  he  says  :  “  The 
condition  and  circumstances  of  the  Gipsy  nation  throughout 
the  whole  of  Europe,  may  truly  be  considered  amongst  the 
most  curious  phenomena  in  the  history  of  man.”  And 
although  this  work,  for  the  most  part,  treats  of  Scottish 
Gipsies,  it  illustrates  the  history  of  the  people  all  over 
Europe,  and,  it  may  be  said,  pretty  much  over  the  world  ; 
and  affords  materials  for  reflection  on  so  singular  a  subject 
connected  with  the  history  of  our  common  family,  and  so 
little  known  to  mankind  in  general.  To  the  American 
reader  generally,  the  work  will  illustrate  a  phase  of  life  and 
history  with  which  it  may  be  reasonably  assumed  he  is  not 
much  conversant ;  for,  although  he  must  have  some  know¬ 
ledge  of  the  Gipsy  race  generally,  there  is  no  work,  that  I 
am  aware  of,  that  treats  of  the  body  like  the  present.  To 
all  kinds  of  readers  the  words  of  the  celebrated  Christopher 
North,  as  quoted  in  the  author’s  Introduction,  may  be 
addressed  : 


“  Few  tilings  more  sweetly  vary  civil  life 
Than  a  barbarian,  savage  Tinklerf  tale.” 

It  is  a  singular  circumstance  that,  until  comparatively 
lately,  little  wras  known  of  this  body  in  Scotland,  beyond 
their- mere  existence,  and  the  depredations  which  they  com¬ 
mitted  on  their  neighbours  ;  no  further  proof  of  which  need 

*  “  Men  of  letters,  while  eagerty  investigating  the  customs  of  Otaheite 
or  Kamschatka,  and  losing  their  tempers  in  endless  disputes  about  Gothic 
and  Celtic  antiquities,  have  witnessed,  with  apathy  and  contempt,  the 
striking  spectacle  of  a  Gipsy  camp — pitched,  perhaps,  amidst  the  moulder¬ 
ing  entrenchments  of  their  favourite  Piets  and  Romans.  The  rest  of  the 
community,  familiar  from  infancy  with  the  general  character  and  appear¬ 
ance  of  these  vagrant  hordes,  have  probably  never  regarded  them  with 
any  deeper  interest  than  what  springs  from  the  recollected  terrors  of  a 
nursery  tale,  or  the  finer  associations  of  poetical  and  picturesque  descrip¬ 
tion  —  It lackwnotfs  Magazine. 

\  Tinkler  is  the  name  generally  applied  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  The 
wandering,  tented  class  prefer  it  to  the  term  Gipsy.  The  settled  and 
better  classes  dete-t  the  word  :  they  would  much  rather  be  called  Gipsies  ; 
but  the  term  Egyptian  is  the  most  agreeable  to  their  feelings.  Tinkler 
has  a  peculiar  meaning  that  can  be  understood  only  by  a  Scotchman.  In 
its  radical  sen-e  it  means  Tinker.  The  verb  tink,  according  to  Jamieson’s 
Scottish  Dictionary,  means  to  “  rivet,  including  the  idea  of  the  noise  mado 
in  the  operation  of  riveting ;  a  Gipsy  word.” 


8 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


be  given  than  a  reference  to  the  letters  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott  and  others,  in  the  Introduction  to  the  work,  and  the 
avidity  with  which  the  few  articles  of  our  author  in  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine  were  read. 

The  higher  we  may  rise  in  the  scale  of  general  informa¬ 
tion  and  philosophic  culture,  the  greater  the  attractions 
will  this  moral  puzzle  have  for  our  contemplation — the  phe¬ 
nomenon  of  a  barbarous  race  of  men,  free  as  the  air,  with 
little  but  the  cold  earth  for  a  bed,  and  the  canopy  of  heaven 
for  a  covering,  obtruding  itself  upon  a  civilized  community, 
and  living  so  long  in  the  midst  of  it,  without  any  material 
impression  being  made  on  the  habits  of  the  representative 
part  of  it ;  the  only  instance  of  the  kind  in  the  modern 
history  of  the  world.  In  this  solitary  case,  having  nothing 
from  which  to  reason  analogously  as  to  the  result,  observa¬ 
tion  alone  must  be  had  recourse  to  for  the  solution  of  the 
experiment.  It  is  from  this  circumstance  that  the  subject, 
in  all  its  bearings,  has  been  found  to  have  such  charms  for 
the  curious  and  learned  ;  being,  as  it  were,  a  study  in  his¬ 
tory  of  the  most  interesting  kind.  It  may  be  remarked 
that  Professor  Wilson,  the  Christopher  North  of  Black¬ 
wood,  is  said  to  have  accompanied  some  of  the  tribe  in  their 
peregrinations  over  parts  of  England  and  Wales.  Without 
proceeding  to  the  same  length,  our  author,  in  his  own 
peculiar  way,  prosecuted  his  researches  with  much  indefatig¬ 
ability,  assiduity,  and  patience.  He  kept  an  open  house 
for  them  at  all  times,  and  presented  such  allurements  as  the 
skillful  trapper  of  vermin  will  sometimes  use  in  attracting 
the  whole  in  a  neighbourhood  ;  when  if  one  Gipsy  entered, 
many  would  follow  ;  although  lie  would  generally  find  them 
so  shy  in  their  communications  as  sometimes  to  require  years 
of  such  baiting  to  ensure  them  for  the  elucidation  of  a 
single  point  of  their  history.  In  this  way  he  made  himself 
appear,  in  his  associations  with  them,  as  very  odd,  and  per¬ 
haps  not  of  very  sound  mind,  in  the  estimation  of  the  wise 
ones  around  him. 

The  popular  idea  of  a  Gipsy,  at  the  present  day,  is  very 
erroneous  as  to  its  extent  and  meaning.  The  nomadic 
Gipsies  constitute  but  a  portion  of  the  race,  and  a  very 
small  portion  of  it.  A  gradual  change  has  come  over  their 
outward  condition,  all  over  Europe,  from  about  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  the  first  American  war,  but  from  what  time 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


13 


He  will  adhere  to  his  ancient  language,  and  talk  it  in  his 
own  family  ;  and  he  has  as  much  right  to  do  so,  as,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  a  Highlander  has  to  speak  Gaelic  in  the  Lowlands, 
or  when  he  goes  abroad,  and  teach  it  to  his  children.  And 
he  takes  a  greater  pride  in  doing  it,  for  thus  he  reasons  : 
“  What  is  English,  French,  Gaelic,  or  any  o^^tliving  lan¬ 
guage,  compared  to  mine  ?  Mine  will  cc^^^Pe  through 
every  part  of  the  known  world  :  wherever  a  Than  is  to  be 
found,  there  is  my  language  spoken.  I  will  find  a  brother 
in  every  part  of  the  world  on  which  I  may  set  my  foot ;  I 
will  be  welcomed  and  passed  along  wherever  I  may  go. 
Freemasonry  indeed !  what  is  masonry  compared  to  the 
brotherhood  of  the  Gipsies  ?  A  language — a  whole  lan¬ 
guage — is  its  pass-word.  I  almost  worship  the  idea  of 
being  a  member  of  a  society  into  which  I  am  initiated  by 
my  blood  and  language.  I  would  not  be  a  man  if  I  did  not 
love  my  kindred,  and  cherish  in  my  heart  that  peculiarity 
of  my  race  (its  language)  which  casts  a  halo  of  glory 
around  it,  and  makes  it  the  wonder  of  the  world !” 

The  feeling  alluded  to  induces  some  of  these  Gipsies  to 
change  their  residences  or  go  abroad.  I  heard  of  one 
family  in  Canada,  of  whom  a  Scotchman  spoke  somewhat  in 
the  following  way  :  “  I  know  them  to  be  Gipsies.  They 
remind  me  of  a  brood  of  wild  turkeys,  hatched  under  a  tame 
bird  ;  it  will  take  the  second  or  third  descent  to  bring 
them  to  resemble,  in  some  of  their  ways,  the  ordinary  barn¬ 
door  fowl.  They  are  very  restless  and  queer  creatures,  and 
move  about  as  if  they  were  afraid  that  every  one  was  going 
to  tramp  on  their  corns.”  But  it  is  in  large  towns  they  feel 
more  at  home.  They  then  form  little  communities  among 
themselves  ;  and  by  closely  associating,  and  sometimes 
huddling  together,  they  can  more  easily  perpetuate  their 
language,  as  I  have  already  said,  than  by  straggling,  twos 
or  threes,  through  the  country.  But  their  quarrelsome  dis¬ 
position  frequently  throws  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  such 
associations.  Secret  as  they  have  been  in  keeping  their 
language  from  even  being  heard  by  the  public  while  wan¬ 
derers,  they  are  much  more  so  since  they  have  settled  in 
towns. 

The  origin  of  the  Gipsies  has  given  rise,  in  recent  times, 
to  many  speculations.  The  most  plausible  one,  however, 
seems  to  be  that  they  are  from  Hindostan  ;  an  opinion  our 


14 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


author  supports  so  well,  that  we  are  almost  bound  to  acqui¬ 
esce  in  it.  In  these  controversies  regarding  the  origin  of 
the  Gipsies,  very  little  regard  seems  to  have  been  had  to 
what  they  say  of  themselves.  It  is  curious  that  in  every 
part  of  Europe  they  have  been  called,  and  are  now  called, 
Egyptiam*B^trace  can  now  be  found  of  any  enquiry  made 
as  to  the^HKin,  if  such  there  was  made,  when  they  first 
appeared  iifEurope.  They  seein  then  to  have  been  taken 
at  their  word,  and  to  have  passed  current  as  Egyptians. 
But  in  modern  times  their  country  has  been  denied  them, 
owing  to  a  total  dissimilarity  between  their  language  and 
any  of  the  dialects  of  modern  Egypt.  A  very  intelligent 
Gipsy  informed  me  that  his  race  sprung  from  a  body  of 
men — a  cross  between  the  Arabs  and  Egyptians— that  left 
Egypt  in  the  train  of  the  Jews.*  In  consulting  the  record 
of  Moses,  I  find  it  said,  in  Ex.  xii.  38,  “and  a  mixed  multi¬ 
tude  went  up  also  with  them”  (the  Jews,  out  of  Egypt). 
Very  little  is  said  of  this  mixed  multitude.  In  Lev.  xxiv. 
10,  mention  is  made  of  the  son  of  an  Israelitish  woman,  by 
an  Egyptian,  being  stoned  to  death  for  blasphemy,  which 
would  almost  imply  that  a  marriage  had  taken  place  pre¬ 
vious  to  leaving  Egypt.  After  this  occurrence,  it  is  said  in 
Num.  xi.  4,  “and  the  mixed  multitude  that  was  among 
them  fell  a  lusting”  for  flesh.  That  would  imply  that  they 
had  not  amalgamated  with  the  Jews,  but  were  only  among 
them.  The  Scriptures  say  nothing  of  what  became  of  this 
mixed  multitude  after  the  Jews  separated  from  them  (Neh. 
xiii.  3),  and  leave  us  only  to  form  a  conjecture  relative  to 
their  destiny. 

We  naturally  ask,  what  could  have  induced  this  mixed 
multitude  to  leave  Egypt  ?  and  the  natural  reply  is,  that 
their  motive  was  the  same  that  led  to  the  exodus  of  the 
Jews — a  desire  to  escape  from  slavery.  No  commentator 
that  I  have  read  gives  a  plausible  reason  for  the  mixed 
multitude  leaving  Egypt  with  the  Jews.  Scott,  be¬ 
sides  venturing  four  suppositions,  advances  a  fifth,  that 
“  some  left  because  they  were  distressed  or  discontented.” 
But  that  seems  to  fall  infinitely  short  of  the  true  reason. 
Adam  Clark  says,  “  Probably  they  were  refugees  who  came 
to  sojourn  in  Egypt,  because  of  the  dearth  which  had  obliged 

*  The  intelligent  reader  will  not  differ  with  me  as  to  the  weight  to  be  at¬ 
tached  to  the  Gipsy’s  remark  on  this  point. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


15 


them  to  emigrate  from  their  own  countries.”  But  that 
dearth  occurred  centuries  before  the  time  of  the  exodus  ;  so 
that  those  refugees,  if  such  there  were,  who  settled  in  Egypt 
during  the  famine,  could  have  returned  to  their  own  coun¬ 
tries  generations  before  the  time  of  that  event.  Scott 
says,  “  It  is  probable  some  left  Egypt  because  it  was  deso¬ 
late  and  Henry,  “  Because  their  country  was  laid  waste 
by  the  plagues.”  But  the  desolation  was  only  partial  ;  for 
we  are  told  that  “  He  that  feared  the  word  of  the  Lord 
among  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  made  his  servants  and  his 
cattle  flee  into  the  houses  by  which  means  they  escaped 
destruction  from  the  hail,  which  affected  only  those  remain¬ 
ing  in  the  field.  We  are  likewise  told  that,  although  the 
barley  and  flax  were  smitten  by  the  same  hail-storm,  the 
wheat  and  rye,  not  being  grown  up,  were  left  untouched. 
These  two  latter  (besides  fish,  roots  and  vegetables)  would 
form  the  staples  of  the  food  of  the  Egyptians  ;  to  say  nothing 
of  the  immense  quantities  in  the  granaries  of  the  country. 
If  the  Egyptians  could  not  find  bread  in  their  own  country, 
how  were  they  to  obtain  it  by  accompanying  the  Jews  into 
a  land  of  which  they  knew  nothing,  and  which  had  to  be 
conquered  before  it  could  be  possessed  ?  Where  were  they 
to  procure  bread  to  support  them  on  the  journey,  if  it  was 
not  to  be  had  at  home  ? 

The  other  reasons  given  by  these  commentators  for  the 
departure  of  the  mixed  multitude  from  Egypt  are  hardly 
worth  controverting,  when  we  consider  the  social  mannors 
and  religious  belief  of  the  Egyptians.  We  are  told  that, 
for  being  shepherds,  the  Israelites  were  an  abomination 
unto  the  Egyptians  (Gen.  xlvi.  34)  ;  and  that  the  Egyptians 
considered  it  an  abomination  to  eat  bread  with  a  Hebrew, 
(Gen.  xliii.  32,)  so  supreme  was  the  reign  of  caste  and  of 
nationality  at  that  period  in  Egypt.  The  sacrifices  of  the 
Jews  were  also  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians  (Ex.  viii. 
26).  The  Hebrews  were  likewise  influenced  by  feelings 
peculiar  to  themselves,  which  would  render  any  alliances 
or  even  associations  between  them  and  their  oppressors 
extremely  improbable  ;  but  if  such  there  should  have  been, 
the  issue  would  be  incorporated  witli  the  Hebrews. 

There  could  thus  be  no  personal  motive  for  any  of  the 
Egyptians  to  accompany  the  Hebrews  ;  and  as  little  could 
there  be  of  that  which  pertains  to  the  religious  ;  for,  as  a 


1G 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


people,  they  had  become  so  “  vain  in  their  imaginations,” 
and  had  “  their  foolish  hearts  so  darkened,”  as  to  worship 
almost  every  created  thing — bulls,  birds,  serpents,  leeks, 
onions  and  garlic.  Such  a  people  were  almost  as  well  nigh 
devoid  of  a  motive  springing  from  a  sense  of  elevated  reli¬ 
gion,  as  were  the  beasts,  the  reptiles  and  the  vegetables 
which  they  worshipped.  A  miracle  performed  before  the 
eyes  of  such  a  people  would  have  no  more  salutary  or  last¬ 
ing  influence  than  would  a  flash  of  lightning  before  the 
eyes  of  many  a  man  in  every  day  life  ;  it  might  prostrate 
them  for  a  moment,  but  its  effects  would  be  as  transitory. 
Like  the  Jews  themselves,  at  a  subsequent  time,  they  might 
credit  the  miracle  to  Beelzebub,  the  prince  of  devils  ;  and, 
like  the  Gergesenes,  rise  up  in  a  body  and  beseech  Moses 
and  his  people  to  depart  out  of  their  coasts.”  Indeed, 
after  the  slaying  of* the  first-born  of  the  Egyptians,  we  are 
told  that  “  the  Egyptians'  were  urgent  upon  the  people  that 
they  might  send  them  out  of  the  land  in  haste  ;  for,  they 
said,  We  be  all  dead  men.”  Considering  how  hard  a  mat¬ 
ter  it  was  for  Moses  to  urge  the  Jews  to  undertake  the 
exodus  ;  considering  their  stiff-necked  and  perverse  grumb¬ 
ling  at  all  that  befell  them  ;  notwithstanding  that  to  them 
“  pertained  the  fathers,  the  adoption,  the  glory  and  the 
covenant ;”  the  commands  and  the  bones  of  Joseph  ;  the 
grievous  bondage  they  were  enduring,  and  the  almost  daily 
recourse  to  which  Moses  had  for  a  miracle  to  strengthen 
their  faith  and  resolution  to  proceed  ;  and  we  will  perceive 
the  impossibility  of  the  “  mixed  multitude”  leaving  Egypt 
on  any  ground  of  religion. 

This  principle  might  even  be  urged  further.  If  we  con¬ 
sider  the  reception  which  was  given  to  the  miracles  of 
Christ  as  “  a  son  over  his  own  house,  and  therefore  worthy 
of  more  glory  than  Moses,  who  was  but  a  servant,”  we  will 
conclude  that  the  miracles  wrought  by  Moses,  although  per¬ 
sonally  felt  by  the  Egyptians,  would  have  as  little  lasting- 
effect  upon  them  as  had  those  of  the  former  upon  the 
Jews  themselves  ;  they  would  naturally  lead  to  the  Hebrews 
being  allowed  to  depart,  but  would  serve  no  purpose  of  in¬ 
ducing  the  Egyptians  to  go  with  them.  For  if  a  veil  was 
mysteriously  drawn  over  the  eyes  of  the  Jews  at  the  advent 
of  Christ,  which,  in  a  negative  sense,  hid  the  Messiah  from 
them  (Mark  iv.  11,  12  ;  Matt.  xi.  25,  26  ;  and  John  xii.  39, 


EDITOR'S  DREE  A  CE. 


9 


previous  to  that,  we  have  no  certain  data  from  which  to 
form  an  opinion.  In  the  whole  of  Great  Britain  they  have 
been  very  much  mixed  with  the  native  blood  of  the  country, 
but  nowhere,  I  believe,  so  much  so  as  in  Scotland.  There 
is  every  reason  to  suppose  that  the  same  mixture  has  taken 
place  in  Europe  generally,  although  its  effects  are  not  so 
observable  in  the  southern  countries — from  the  circumstance 
of  the  people  there  being,  for  the  most  part,  of  dark  hair 
and  complexion — as  in  those  lying  further  toward  the  north. 
But  this  circumstance  would,  to  a  certain  extent,  prevent  the 
mixture  which  has  taken  place  in  countries  the  inhabitants 
of  which  have  fair  hair  and  complexions.  The  causes 
leading  to  this  mixture  are  various. 

The  persecutions  to  which  the  Gipsies  were  exposed, 
merely  for  being  Gipsies,  which  their  appearance  would 
readily  indicate,  seem  to  have  induced  the  body  to  inter¬ 
marry  with  our  race,  so  as  to  disguise  theirs.  That  would 
be  done  by  receiving  and  adopting  males  of  our  race, 
whom  they  would  marry  to  females  of  theirs,  who  would 
bring  up  the  children  of  such  unions  as  members  of  their 
fraternity.  They  also  adopted  the  practice  to  give  their 
race  stamina,  as  well  as  numbers,  to  contend  with  the  people 
among  whom  they  lived.  The  desire  of  having  servants, 
(for  Gipsies,  generally,  have  been  too  proud  to  do  menial 
work  for  each  other,)  led  to  many  children  being  kidnapped, 
and  reared  among  them  ;  many  of  whom,  as  is  customary 
with  Oriental  people,  rose  to  as  high  a  position  in  the  tribe 
as  any  of  themselves.* 

Then  again,  it  was  very  necessary  to  have  people  of  fair 
complexion  among  them,  to  enable  them  the  more  easily  to 
carry  on  their  operations  upon  the  community,  as  well  as  to 
contribute  to  their  support  during  times  of  persecution.  Ow- 

*  Mr.  Borrow  labours  under  a  very  serious  mistake  when  he  asserts  that 
“  The  unfounded  idea,  that  Gipsies  steal  children,  to  bring  them  up  as 
Gipsies,  has  been  the  besetting  sin  of  authors,  who  have  attempted  to 
found  works  of  fiction  on  the  way  of  life  of  this  most,  singular  people.’’  The 
only  argument  which  he  advances  to  refute  this  belief  in  regard  to  Gipsies, 
which  is  universal,  is  the  following:  “  They  have  plenty  of  children  of 
their  own,  whom  they  can  scarcely  support;  and  they  would  smile  at  the 
idea  of  encumbering  themselves  with  the  children  of  others.”  This  is 
rather  inconsistent  with  his  own  words,  when  he  says,  “  I  have  dealt  more 
in  facts  than  in  theories,  of  which  I  am,  in  general,  no  friend.”  As  a  matte) 
of  fact,  children  have  been  stolen  and  brought  up  as  Gipsies,  and  incoi 
porated  with  the  tribe. 


10 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


ing  to  these  causes,  and  the  occasional  occurrence  of  white 
people  being,  by  more  legitimate  means,  received  into  their 
body,  which  would  be  more  often  the  case  in  their  palmy  days, 
the  half,  at  least,  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  are  of  fair  hair  and 
blue  eyes.  Some  would  naturally  think  that  these  would 
not  be  Gipsies,  but  the  fact  is  otherwise  ;  for,  owing  to  the 
dreadful  prejudice  which  has  always  attached  to  the  name 
of  Gipsy,  these  white  and  parti-coloured  Gipsies,  imagining 
themselves,  as  it  were,  banished  from  society,  on  account  of 
their  descent,  cling  to  their  Gipsy  connection  ;  as  the  other 
part  of  their  blood,  they  imagine,  will  not  own  them.  They 
are  Gipsies,  and,  with  the  public,  they  think  that  is  quite 
enough.  They  take  a  pride  in  being  descended  from  a  race 
so  mysterious,  so  ancient,  so  universal,  and  cherish  their 
language  the  more  from  its  being  the  principal  badge  of 
membership  that  entitles  them  to  belong  to  it.  The  nearer 
they  approach  the  whites  as  regards  blood,  the  more  acutely 
do  they  feel  the  antipathy  which  is  entertained  for  their  race, 
and  the  more  bitter  does  the  propinquity  become  to  them.  The 
more  enlightened  they  become,  the  stronger  becomes  their 
attachment  to  the  sept  in  the  abstract,  although  they  will 
despise  many  of  its  members.  The  sense  of  such  an  ancient 
descent,  and  the  possession  of  such  an  ancient  and  secret 
language,  in  the  minds  of  men  of  comparatively  limited 
education  and  indifferent  rearing,  brought  up  in  humble 
life,  and  following  various  callings,  from  a  tinker  upward, 
and  even  of  men  of  education  and  intelligence,  occupying 
the  position  of  lawyers,  medical  doctors,  and  clergymen, 
possess  for  them  a  charm  that  is  at  once  fascinating  and 
enchanting.  If  men  of  enlightened  minds  and  high  social 
standing  will  go  to  such  lengths  as  they  have  done,  in  their 
endeavours  to  but  look  into  their  language,  how  much  more 
will  they  not  cling  to  it,  such  as  it  is,  in  whose  hearts  it 
is?  Gipsies  compounded  for  the  most  part  of  white  blood, 
but  with  Gipsy  feelings,  are,  as  a  general  thing,  much 
superior  to  those  who  more  nearly  approach  what  may 
be  called  the  original  stock  ;  and,  singularly  enough,  speak 
the  language  better  than  the  others,  if  their  opportunities 
have  been  In  any  way  favourable  for  its  acquisition. 

The  primitive,  original  state  of  the  Gipsies  is  the  tent  and 
tilted  cart.  But  as  any  country  can  support  only  a  limited 
number  in  that  way,  and  as  the  increase  of  the  body  is  very 


EDITOR  8  FREE  A  GE. 


11 


large,  it  follows  that  they  must  cast  about  to  make  a 
living  in  some  other  way,  however  bitter  the  pill  may  be 
which  they  have  to  swallow.  The  nomadic  Gipsy  portion 
resembles,  in  that  respect,  a  water  trough  ;  for  the  water 
which  runs  into  it,  there  must  be  a  corresponding  quantity 
running  over  it.  The  Gipsies  who  leave  the  tent  resemble 
the  youth  of  our  small  seaports  and  villages ;  for  there, 
society  is  so  limited  as  to  compel  such  youth  to  take  to  the 
sea  or  cities,  or  go  abroad,  to  gain  that  livelihood  which  the 
neighbourhood  in  which  they  have  been  reared  denies  to 
them.  In  the  same  manner  do  these  Gipsies  look  back  to 
the  tent  from  which  they,  or  their  fathers,  have  sprung. 
They  carry  the  language,  the  associations,  and  the  sympa¬ 
thies  of  their  race,  and  their  peculiar  feelings  toward  the 
community,  with  them  ;  and,  as  residents  of  towns,  have 
generally  greater  facilities,  from  others  of  their  raco  residing 
near  them,  for  perpetuating  their  language,  than  when  stroll¬ 
ing  over  the  country. 

The  prejudice  of  their  fellow  creatures,  which  clings  to 
the  race  to  which  they  belong,  almost  overwhelms  some  of 
them  at  times  ;  but  it  is  only  momentary  ■  for  such  is  the 
independence  and  elasticity  of  their  nature,  that  they  rise 
from  under  it,  as  self-complacent  and  proud  as  ever.  They 
in  such  cases  resort  to  the  tu  quoque — the  tit  for  tat  argu¬ 
ment  as  regards  their  enemies,  and  ask,  “  What  is  this  white 
race,  after  all?  What  were  their  forefathers  a  few  genera¬ 
tions  ago  ?  the  Highlands  a  nest  of  marauding  thieves,  and 
the  Borders  little  better.  Or  society  at  the  present  day — 
what  is  it  but  a  compound  of  deceit  and  hypocrisy?  Peo¬ 
ple  say  that  the  Gipsies  steal.  True  ;  some  of  them  steal 
chickens,  vegetables,  and  such  things  ;  but  what  is  that  com¬ 
pared  to  the  robbery  of  widows  and  orphans,  the  lying  and 
cheating  of  traders,  the  swindling,  the  robberies,  the  mur¬ 
ders,  the  ignorance,  the  squalor,  and  the  debaucheries  of  so 
many  of  the  white  race  ?  What  are  all  these  compared  to 
the  simple  vices  of  the  Gipsies?  What  is  the  ancestry 
they  boast  of,  compared,  in  point  of  antiquity,  to  ours? 
People  may  despise  the  Gipsies,  but  they  certainly  despise 
all  others  not  of  their  own  race  :  the  veriest  beggar  Gipsy, 
without  shoes  to  his  feet,  considers  himself  better  than  the 
queen  that  sits  upon  the  throue.  People  say  that  Gipsies 
arc  blackguards.  Well,  if  some  of  them  are  blackguards, 


12 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


they  are  at  least  illustrious  blackguards  as  regards  descent, 
and  so  in  fact ;  for  they  never  rob  each  ether,  and  far  less 
do  they  rob  or  ruin  those  of  their  own  farnily.”  And  they 
conclude  that  the  odium  which  clings  to  the  race  is  but  a 
prejudice.  Still,  they  will  deny  that  they  are  Gipsies,  and 
will  rather  almost  perish  than  let  any  one,  not  of  their  own 
race,  know  that  they  speak  their  language  in  their  own 
households  and  among  their  own  kindred.  They  will  even 
deny  or  at  least  hide  it  from  many  of  their  own  race. 

For  all  these  reasons,  the  most  appropriate  word  to  apply 
to  modern  Gipsyism,  and  especially  British  Gipsyism,  and 
more  especially  Scottish  Gipsyism,  is  to  call  it  a  caste,  and  a 
kind  of  masonic  society,  rather  than  any  particular  mode 
of  life.  And  it  is  necessary  that  this  distinction  should  be 
kept  in  mind,  otherwise  the  subject  will  appear  contra¬ 
dictory. 

The  most  of  these  Gipsies  are  unknown  to  the  public  as 
Gipsies.  The  feeling  in  question  is,  for  the  most  part,  on 
the  side  of  the  Gipsies  themselves  ;  they  think  that  more 
of  them  is  known  than  actually  is.  In  that  respect  a  kind 
of  nightmare  continually  clings  to  them  ;  while  their  pecu¬ 
liarly  distant,  clannish,  and  odd  habits  create  a  kind  of 
separation  between  them  and  the  other  inhabitants,  which 
the  Gipsy  is  naturally  apt  to  construe  as  proceeding  from  a 
different  cause.  Frequently,  all  that  is  said  about  them 
amounts  only  to  a  whisper  among  some  of  the  families  in 
the  community  in  which  they  live,  and  which  is  confiden¬ 
tially  passed  around  among  themselves,  from  a  dread  of 
personal  consequences.  Sometimes  the  native  families  say 
among  themselves,  “  Why  should  we  make  allusion  to  their 
kith  and  kin  ?  They  seem  decent  people,  and  attend 
church  like  ourselves  ;  and  it  would  be  cruel  to  cast  up 
their  descent  to  them,  and  damage  them  in  the  estimation 
of  the  world.  Their  cousins,  (or  second  cousins,  as  it  may 
be,)  travel  the  country  in  the  old  Tinkler  fashion,  no  doubt ; 
but  what  has  that  to  do  with  them  ?”  The  estimate  of  such 
people  never,  or  hardly  ever,  goes  beyond  the  simple  idea 
of  their  being  “  descended  from  Tinklers few  have  the 
most  distant  idea  that  they  are  Gipsies,  and  speak  the 
Gipsy  language  among  themselves.  It  is  certain  that  a 
Gipsy  can  be  a  good  man,  as  the  world  goes,  nay,  a  very 
good  man,  and  glory  in  being  a  Gipsy,  but  not  to  the  public. 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


17 


40),  how  much  more  might  it  not  be  said,  “  He  hath  blinded 
their  eyes,  and  hardened  their  hearts,  that  they  should  not 
see  witli  their  eyes,  nor  understand  with  their  hearts,”  and 
let  the  people  of  Israel  go,  “  till  they  would  thrust  them  out 
hence  altogether  and  particularly  so  when  the  object  of 
Moses’  mission  was  to  redeem  the  Israelites  from  the  bond¬ 
age  of  Egypt,  and  spoil  and  smite  the  Egyptians. 

The  only  reasonable  conclusion  to  which  we  can  come,  as 
regards  a  motive  for  the  “  mixed  multitude”  leaving  Egypt 
along  with  the  Jews,  is,  that  being  slaves  like  themselves, 
they  took  advantage  of  the  opportunity,  and  slipped  out  with 
them.* 

The  Jews,  on  being  reduced  to  a  state  of  bondage,  were 
employed  by  Pharaoh  to  “  build  treasure  cities,  and  work 
in  mortar  and  brick,  and  do  all  manner  of  service  in  the 
field,”  besides  being  “  scattered  abroad  through  all  the  land 
of  Egypt,  to  gather  stubble  in  place  of  straw,”  wherewith  to 
make  their  tale  of  bricks.  In  this  way  they  would  come 
much  in  contact  with  the  other  slaves  of  the  country  ;  and, 
as  “  adversity  makes  strange  bed-fellows,”  they  would  natu¬ 
rally  prove  communicative  to  their  fellow-sufferers,  and 
expatiate  on  the  history  of  their  people,  from  the  days  of 
Abraham  downward,  were  it  only  from  a  feeling  of  vanity 
to  make  themselves  appear  superior  to  what  they  would  con¬ 
sider  the  ordinary  dross  around  them.  They  would  also 
naturally  allude  to  their  future  prospects,  and  the  positive 
promise,  or  at  least  general  idea,  which  they  had  of  their 
God  effecting  their  deliverance,  and  leading  them  into  a 
country  (Gen.  1.  24,  25)  where  all  the  miseries  they  were 
then  enduring  would  be  forgotten.  They  would  do  that 
more  especially  after  Moses  had  returned  from  his  father-in- 
law  in  Midian,  to  bring  them  out  of  Egypt ;  for  we  are  told, 
in  Ex.  iv.  29-31,  that  the  elders  of  the  children  of  Israel 
were  called  together  and  informed  of  the  intended  redemp¬ 
tion,  and  that  all  the  people  believed.  By  such  means  as 
these  would  the  minds  of  some  of  the  other  slaves  of  Egypt 
be  inflamed  at  the  very  idea  of  freedom  being  perhaps  in 
immediate  prospect  for  so  many  of  their  fellow-bondsmen. 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  read  IJengstenberg  on  the  Penta¬ 
teuch,  who  supposes  that  the  “  mixed  multitude”  were  an  inferior  order  of 
workmen,  employed,  like  the  Jews,  as  slaves,  in  the  building  of  the  pyra¬ 
mids. 


18 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


Thereafter  happened  the  many  plagues  ;  the  causes  of 
which  must  have  been  more  or  less  known  to  the  Egyptians 
generally,  from  the  public  manner  in  which  Moses  would 
make  his  demands  (Ex.  x.  7) ;  and  consequently  to  their 
slaves  ;  for  many  of  the  slaves  would  be  men  of  intelligence, 
as  is  common  in  oriental  countries.  Some  of  these  slaves 
would,  in  all  probability,  watch,  with  fear  and  trembling,  the 
dreadful  drama  played  out  (Ex.  ix.  20).  Others  would  per¬ 
haps,  give  little  heed  to  the  various  sayings  of  the  Hebrews 
at  the  time  they  were  uttered  ;  the  plagues  would,  perhaps, 
have  little  effect  in  reminding  them  of  them.  As  they  ex¬ 
perienced  their  effects,  they  might  even  feel  exasperated  to¬ 
ward  the  Hebrews  for  being  the  cause  of  them  ;  still  it  is 
more  probable  that  they  sympathized  with  them,  as  fellow- 
bondsmen,  and  murmured  against  Pharaoh  for  their  exist¬ 
ence  and  greater  manifestation.  But  the  positive  order,  nay 
the  entreaty,  for  the  departure  of  the  Israelites,  and  the 
passage  before  their  eyes  of  so  large  a  body  of  slaves  to  ob¬ 
tain  their  freedom,  would  induce  many  of  them  to  follow 
them  ;  for  they  would,  in  all  likelihood,  form  no  higher 
estimate  of  the  movement  than  that  of  merely  gaining  that 
liberty  "which  slaves,  in  all  nations,  and  under  all  circum¬ 
stances,  do  continually  sigh  after. 

The  character  of  Moses  alone  was  a  sufficient  guarantee 
to  the  slaves  of  Egypt  that  they  might  trust  themselves  to 
his  leadership  and  protection  (not  to  speak  of  the  miraculous 
powers  which  he  displayed  in  his  mission) ;  for  we  are  told 
that,  besides  being  the  adopted  son  of  Pharaoh’s  daughter, 
he  was  learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians,  and 
mighty  in  word  and  deed.  Having  been,  according  to  Jo¬ 
sephus,  a  great  commander  in  the  armies  of  Egypt,  he  must 
have  been  the  means  of  reducing  to  bondtige  many  of  the 
slaves,  or  the  parents  of  the  slaves,  then  living  in  Egypt.  At 
the  time  of  the  exodus  we  are  told  that  he  was  “  very  great 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in  the  sight  of  Pharaoh’s  servants,  and 
in  the  sight  of  the  people”  (Ex.  xi.  3).  The  burying  of  the 
“  first-born”  was  not  a  circumstance  likely  to  prevent  a  slave 
gaining  his  freedom  amid  the  dismay,  the  moaning,  and 
groaning,  and  howling  throughout  the  land  of  Egypt.  The 
circumstance  was  even  the  more  favourable  for  his  escape, 
owing  to  the  Hebrews  being  allowed  to  go,  till  it  pleased 
God  again  to  harden  and  stir  up  Pharaoh  to  pursue  them 


EDITORS  PREFACE. 


19 


(Ex.  xiv.  2-5  and  8),  in  order  that  his  host  might  to  over¬ 
thrown  in  the  Red  Sea. 

The  Jews,  while  in  Egypt,  seem  to  have  been  reduced  to 
a  state  of  serfdom  only — crown  slaves,  not  chattels  personal ; 
which  would  give  them  a  certain  degree  of  respect  in  the 
eyes  of  the  ordinary  slaves  of  the  country,  and  lead  them, 
owing  to  the  dignity  of  their  descent,  to  look  down  with 
disdain  upon  the  “  mixed  multitude”  which  followed  them. 
While  it  is  said  that  they  were  “  scattered  over  the  land  of 
Egypt,”  we  are  told,  in  Ex.  ix.  4,  that  the  murrain  touched 
not  the  cattle  of  Israel  ;  and  in  the  26th  verse,  that  “  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  where  the  people  of  Israel  were,  there  was 
no  hail.”  And  Moses  said  to  Pharaoh,  “Our  cattle  also  shall 
go  with  us  ;  there  shall  not  an  hoof  be  left  behind  ;  for 
thereof  we  must  take  to  serve  the  Lord  our  God”  (Ex.  x.  26). 
From  this  we  would  naturally  conclude,  that  such  of  the 
Jews  only  as  were  capable  of  work,  were  scattered  over  the 
land  of  Egypt  to  do  the  work  of  Pharaoh,  while  the  rest 
were  left  in  the  land  of  Goshen.  By  both  the  Egyptians 
and  their  slaves,  the  Hebrews  would  be  looked  upon  as  a 
mysterious  people,  which  the  former  would  be  glad  to  send 
out  of  the  land,  owing  to  the  many  plagues  which  they  had 
been  the  cause  of  being  sent  upon  them  ;  and  while  they  got 
quit  of  them,  as  they  did,  there  would  be  no  earthly  motive 
for  the  Egyptians  to  follow  them,  through  a  wilderness,  into 
a  country  of  which  the  Hebrews  themselves  knew  nothing. 
But  it  would  be  different  with  their  slaves  ;  they  had  every¬ 
thing  to  hope  from  a  change  of  condition,  and  would  readily 
avail  themselves  of  the  chance  to  effect  it. 

The  very  term  “  mixed  multitude”  implies  slaves  ;  for  the 
Hebrew  word  hasaphsuph,  as  translated  by  Bochartus,  means 
populi  colluvies  undecunque  colleda — “  the  dregs  or  scum  of 
the  people  gathered  together  from  all  parts.”  But  this  in¬ 
terpretation  is  most  likely  the  literal  meaning  of  a  figurative 
expression,  which  was  intended  to  describe  a  body  of  men 
such  as  the  slaves  of  Egypt  must  have  been,  that  is,  a  mix¬ 
ture  that  was  compounded  of  men  from  almost  every  part  of 
the  world  known  to  the  Egyptians  ;  the  two  principal  in¬ 
gredients  of  which  must  have  been  what  may  be  called  the 
Egyptian  and  Semitic.  Moses  seems  to  have  used  the  word  in 
question  in  consequence  of  the  vexation  and  snare  which  the 
mixed  multitude  proved  to  him,  by  bringing  upon  the  camp 


20 


EDITOR'S  PREFA  CE. 


of  his  people  the  plague,  inflicted,  in  consequence  of  their 
pins,  in  the  midst  of  them.  At  the  same  time  the  Hebrews 
■were  very  apt  to  term  “  dregs  and  scum”  all  who  did  not 
proceed  from  the  loins  of  their  father,  Abraham.  But  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  bulk  or  nucleus  of  the  mixed 
multitude  would  consist  of  slaves  who  were  located  in  Go¬ 
shen,  or  its  neighbourhood,  when  the  Jews  were  settled 
there  by  Pharaoh.  These  would  be  a  mixture  of  the  shep¬ 
herd  kings  and  native  Egyptians,  held  by  the  former  as 
slaves,  who  would  naturally  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Egyp¬ 
tian  monarch  during  his  gradual  reconquest  of  the  country  ; 
and  they  would  be  held  by  the  pure  Egyptians  in  as  little 
esteem  as  the  Jews  themselves,  both  being,  in  a  measure,  of 
the  shepherd  race.  In  this  way  it  may  be  claimed  that  the 
Gipsies  are  even  descendants  of  the  shepherd  kings. 

After  leaving  Egypt,  the  Hebrews  and  the  “  mixed  multi¬ 
tude,”  in  their  exuberance  of  feeling  at  having  gained  their 
freedom,  and  witnessed  the  overthrow  of  their  common  op¬ 
pressor  in  the  Red  Sea,  would  naturally  have  everything  in 
common,  till  they  regained  their  powers  of  reflection,  and 
begau  to  think  of  their  destiny,  and  the  means  of  supporting 
so  many  individuals,  in  a  country  in  which  provisions  could 
hardly  be  collected  for  the  company  of  an  ordinary  caravan. 
Then  their  difficulties  would  begin.  It  was  enough  for 
Moses  to  have  to  guide  the  Hebrews,  whose  were  the  prom¬ 
ises,  without  being  burdened  and  harassed  by  those  who  fol¬ 
lowed  them.  Then  we  may  reasonably  assume  that  the 
mixed  multitude  began  to  clamour  for  flesh,  and  lead  the 
Hebrews  to  join  with  them  ;  in  return  for  which  a  plague 
was  sent  upon  the  people.  They  were  unlikely  to  submit  to 
be  led  by  the  hand  of  God,  and  be  fed  on  angels’  food,  and, 
like  the  Hebrews,  leave  their  carcasses  in  the  wilderness  ; 
for  their  religious  sentiments,  if,  as  slaves  of  Egypt,  they 
had  religious  sentiments,  would  be  very  low  indeed,  and 
Avould  lead  them  to  depend  upon  themselves,  and  leave  the 
deserts  of  Arabia,  for  some  other  country  more  likely  to 
support  them  and  their  children.  Undoubtedly  the  two 
people  then  separated,  as  Abraham  and  Lot  parted  when 
they  came  out  of  Egypt. 

How  to  shake  off  this  mixed  multitude  must  have  caused 
Moses  many  an  anxious  thought.  Possibly  his  father-in-law, 
Jethro,  from  the  knowledge  and  sagacity  which  he  displayed 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


21 


in  forming  the  government  of  Moses  himself,  may  have 
assisted  him  in  arriving  at  the  conclusion  which  ho  must 
have  so  devoutly  wished.  To  take  them  into  the  promised 
land  with  him  was  impossible  ;  for  the  command  of  God, 
given  in  regard  to  Ishmael,  the  son  of  Abraham,  by  Hagar 
the  Egyptian,  and  which  was  far  more  applicable  to  the 
mixed  multitude,  must  have  rung  in  his  ears  :  “  Cast  out 
this  bondwoman  and  her  son,  for  the  son  of  this  bondwoman 
shall  not  be  heir  with  my  son,  Isaac  “  for  in  Isaac  shall 
thy  seed  be  called.”  As  slaves  of  Egypt  they  would  not 
return  to  that  country  ;  they  would  not  go  north,  for  that 
was  the  heritage  of  the  people  of  Israel,  which  had  to  be 
wrested  from  the  fierce  tribes  of  Palestine  ;  they  would  not 
go  north-east,  for  there  lay  the  powerful  empire  of  Assyria, 
or  the  germs  out  of  which  it  sprung  ;  they  could  not  go 
south,  for  the  ocean  hemmed  them  in,  in  that  direction  ;  and 
their  only  alternative  was  to  proceed  east,  through  Arabia 
Petrea,  along  the  gulf  of  Persia,  through  the  Persian 
desert,  into  northern  Hindostan,  where  they  formed  the 
Gipsy  caste,  and  whence  they  issued,  after  the  lapse  of  so 
many  centuries,  in  possession  of  the  language  of  Hindostan, 
and  spread  themselves  over  the  earth.  What  a  strange 
sensation  passes  through  the  mind,  when  such  a  subject  is 
contemplated !  Jews  and  Gipsies  having,  in  a  sense,  the 
same  origin,  and,  after  such  vicissitudes,  meeting  each 
other,  face  to  face,  under  circumstances  so  greatly  alike,  in 
almost  every  part  of  the  world,  upward  of  3000  years  after 
they  parted  company.  What  destiny  awaited  the  Jews 
themselves  on  escaping  from  Egypt?  They  had  cither  to 
subdue  and  take  the  place  of  some  other  tribe,  or  be  reduced 
to  a  state  of  slavery  by  it  and  perhaps  others  combined  ;  or 
they  might  possibly  have  been  befriended  by  some  great 
empire  as  tributaries  ;  or  failing  these  three,  what  remained 
for  them  was  the  destiny  that  befell  the  Gipsies. 

On  leaving  Egypt,  the  Gipsies  would  possess  a  common 
language,  which  would  hold  them  together  as  a  body ;  as 
slaves  under  the  society  of  an  Egyptian  monarchy,  they 
would  have  few,  if  any,  opinions  of  a  religious  nature  ;  and 
they  would  have  but  little  idea  of  the  laws  of  meum  and 
tuum.  The  position  in  which  they  would  find  themselves 
placed,  and  the  circumstances  surrounding  them,  would 
necessitate  them  to  rob,  steal,  or  appropriate  whatever  they 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


22 

found  to  be  necessary  to  tlieir  existence  ;  for  whether  they 
turned  to  the  right  hand  or  to  the  left,  they  would  always 
find  territory  previously  occupied,  and  property  claimed  by 
some  one  ;  so  that  their  presence  would  always  be  unwel¬ 
come,  their  persons  an  intrusion  everywhere  ;  and  having 
once  started  on  their  weary  pilgrimage,  as  long  as  they 
maintained  their  personal  independence,  they  would  never 
attain,  as  a  body,  to  any  other  position  than  they  have  done, 
in  popular  estimation,  for  the  last  four  hundred  and  fifty 
years  in  Europe. 

In  entering  Hindostan  they  would  meet  with  a  civilized 
people,  governed  by  rigid  caste,  where  they  would  have  no 
alternative  but  to  remain  aloof  from  the  other  inhabitants. 
Then,  as  now,  that  country  had  many  wandering  tribes 
within  its  borders,  and  for  which  it  is  peculiarly  favourable. 
Whatever  might  have  been  the  amount  of  civilization  which 
some  of  the  Gipsies  brought  with  them  from  Egypt,  it  could 
not  be  otherwise  than  of  that  quasi  nature  which  generally 
characterizes  that  of  slaves,  and  which  would  rapidly  degen¬ 
erate  into  a  kind  of  barbarism,  under  the  change  of  circum¬ 
stances  in  which  they  found  themselves  placed.  As  run¬ 
away  slaves,  they  would  naturally  be  shy  and  suspicious,  and 
be  very  apt  to  betake  themselves  to  mountains,  forests  and 
swamps,  and  hold  as  little  intercourse  with  the  people  of 
the  country  in  which  they  were,  as  possible.  Still,  having 
been  reared  within  a  settled  and  civilized  state,  they  would 
naturally  hang  around  some  other  one,  and  nestle  within  it, 
if  the  face  of  the  country,  and  the  character  and  ways  of 
the  people,  admitted  of  it.  Having  been  bondsmen,  they 
would  naturally  become  lazy  after  gaining  their  freedom, 
and  revel  in  the  wild  liberty  of  nature.  They  would  do 
almost  anything  for  a  living  rather  than  work  ;  and  what¬ 
ever  they  could  lay  their  hands  on  would  be  fairly  come  by, 
in  their  imagination.  But  to  cany  out  this  mode  of  life, 
they  would  naturally  have  recourse  to  some  ostensible  em¬ 
ployment,  to  enable  them  to  travel  through  the  country,  and 
secure  the  toleration  of  its  inhabitants.  Here  their  Egyp¬ 
tian  origin  would  come  to  their  assistance  ;  for  as  slaves  of 
that  country,  they  must  have  had  many  among  them  who 
would  be  familiar  with  horses,  and  working  in  metals,  for 
which  ancient  Egypt  was  famous  ;  not  to  speak  of  some  of 
the  occult  sciences  whicl  they  would  carry  with  them  from 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


23 


that  country.  In  the  first  generation  their  new  habits  and 
modes  of  life  would  become  chronic  ;  in  the  second  genera¬ 
tion  they  would  become  hereditary ;  and  from  this  strange 
phenomenon  would  spring  a  race  that  is  unique  in  the  history 
of  the  human  family.  What  origin  could  be  more  worthy 
of  the  Gipsies  ?  What  origin  more  philosophical  ? 

Arriving  in  India  a  foreign  caste,  the  Gipsies  would 
naturally  cling  to  their  common  origin,  and  speak  their  com¬ 
mon  language,  which,  in  course  of  ages,  would  be  forgotten, 
except  occasional  words,  which  would  be  used  by  them  as 
catch-words.  At  the  present  day  my  Gipsy  acquaintances 
inform  me  that,  in  Great  Britain,  five  out  of  every  ten  of 
their  words  are  nothing^ but  eomnyjn-Hiiidostanee.  How 
strange  would  it  be  if  sdme'oT  the  other  words  of  their 
language  were  those  used  by  the  people  of  Egypt  under  the 
Pharaohs.  Mr.  Borrow  says  :  “  Is  it  not  surprising  that  the 
language  of  Pelulengro,  (an  English  Gipsy,)  is  continually 
coming  to  my  assistance  whenever  I  appear  to  be  at  a  loss 
with  respect  to  the  derivation  of  crabbed  words.  I  have 
made  out  crabbed  words  in  ^Eschylus  by  means  of  his 
speech  ;  and  even  in  my  Biblical  researches  I  have  derived 
no  slight  assistance  from  it.”  “  Broken,  corrupted  and  half 
in  ruins  as  it  is,  it  was  not  long  before  I  found  that  it  was 
an  original  speed),  far  more  so,  indeed,  than  one  or  two 
others  of  high  name  and  celebrity,  which,  up  to  that  time, 
I  had  been  in  the  habit  of  regarding  with  respect  and  venera¬ 
tion.  Indeed,  many  obscure  points  connected  with  the 
vocabulary  of  these  languages,  and  to  which  neither  classic 
nor  modern  lore  afforded  any  clue,  I  thought  I  could  now 
clear  up  by  means  of  this  strange,  broken  tongue,  spoken 
by  people  who  dwell  among  thickets  and  furze  bushes,  in 
tents  as  tawny  as  their  faces,  and  whom  the  generality  of 
mankind  designate,  and  with  much  semblance  of  justice,  as 
thieves  and  vagabonds.” 

A  difficulty  somewhat  similar  to  the  origin  of  the  Gipsies 
has  been  started  in  reference  to  their  language  ;  whether  it 
is  a  speech  distinct  from  any  other  surrounding  it,  or  a  few 
slang  words  or  expressions  connected  together  by  the  usual 
languages  of  the  countries  in  which  the  race  is  to  be  found. 
The  slightest  consideration  will  remove  the  doubt,  and  lead 
us  to  the  former  conclusion.  It  is  true  there  must  needs  be 
some  native  words  mixed  up  with  it ;  for  what  language,  in 


24 


EDIT  OH'S  PREFACE. 


ancient  or  modern  times,  has  come  down  free  of  a  mixture 
with  others?  If  that  be  the  case  with  languages  classified, 
written,  and  spoken  in  a  community,  with  no  disturbing  ele¬ 
ment  near  it  to  corrupt  it,  is  it  to  be  expected  that  the 
speech  of  a  people  like  the  Gipsies  can  be  free  of  similar 
additions  or  substitutions,  when  it  possesses  none  of  these 
advantages  for  the  preservation  of  its  entirety  and  purity? 
From  the  length  of  time  the  people  have  been  in  Europe, 
and  the  frequency  of  intercourse  which  they  have  been 
forced  by  circumstances,  in  modern  times  especially,  to  have 
with  its  natives,  it  would  appear  beyond  measure  surprising 
that  even  a  word  of  their  language  is  spoken  at  all.  And 
tli is  fact  adds  great  weight  to  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  remark, 
when  he  says  that  “  their  language  is  a  great  mystery  ;v  and 
to  that  of  Dr.  Bright,  when  he  speaks  of  its  existence  as 
being  “  little  short  of  the  miraculous.”  But  when  we  con¬ 
sider,  on  strictly  philosophical  principles,  the  phenomenon  of 
the  perpetuation  of  the  Gipsy  language,  we  will  find  that 
there  is  nothing  so  very  wonderful  about  it  after  all.  The 
race  have  always  associated  closely  and  exclusively  together  ; 
and  their  language  has  become  to  them  like  the  worship  of 
a  household  god — hereditary,  and  is  spoken  among  them¬ 
selves  under  the  severest  of  discipline.  It  is  certain  that  it 
is  spoken  at  the  present  day,  by  some  of  the  race,  nearly  as 
well  as  the  Gaelic  of  many  of  the  immediate  descendants 
of  the  emigrants  in  some  of  the  small  Highland  settlements 
in  America,  when  it  has  not  been  learned  by  book,  even  to 
the  extent  of  conversing  on  any  subject  of  ordinary  life, 
without  apparently  using  English  words.  But,  as  is  common 
with  people  possessing  two  languages,  the  Gipsies  often  use 
them  interchangeably  in  expressing  the  smallest  idea.  Be¬ 
sides  the  way  mentioned  by  which  the  Gipsy  language  has 
been  corrupted,  there  is  another  one  peculiar  to  all  speeches, 
and  which  is,  that  few  tongues  are  so  copious  as  not  to  stand 
in  need  of  foreign  words,  either  to  give  names  to  things  or 
wants  unknown  in  the  place  where  the  language  originated, 
or  greater  meaning  or  elucidation  to  a  thing  than  it  is  capa¬ 
ble  of ;  and  preeminently  so  in  the  case  of  a  barbarous 
people,  with  few  ideas  beyond  the  commonest  wants  of  daily 
life,  entering  states  so  far  advanced  toward  that  point  of 
civilization  which  they  have  now  reached.  But  the  question 
as  to  the  extent  of  the  Gipsy  language  never  can  be  con- 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


25 


clusively  settled,  until  some  able  philologist  has  the  unre¬ 
stricted  opportunity  of  daily  intercourse  with  the  race  ;  or, 
as  a  thing  more  to  be  wished  than  obtained,  some  Gipsy 
take  to  suitable  learning,  and  confer  a  rarity  of  information 
upon  the  reader  of  history  everywhere  :  for  the  attempt 
at  getting  a  single  word  of  the  language  from  the  Gipsies, 
is,  in  almost  every  case,  impracticable.  Sir  Walter  Scott 
seems  to  have  had  an  intention  of  writing  an  account  of  the 
Gipsies  himself ;  for,  in  a  letter  to  Murray,  as  given  by 
Lockhart,  he  writes:  “I  have  been  over  head  and  ears  in 
work  this  summer,  or  I  would  have  sent  the  Gipsies  ;  indeed 
I  was  partly  stopped  by  finding  it  impossible  to  procure  a 
few  words  of  their  language.”  For  this  reason,  the  words 
furnished  in  this  work,  although  few,  are  yet  numerous, 
when  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  getting  them  are  con¬ 
sidered.  Under  the  chapter  of  Language  will  be  found 
some  curious  anecdotes  of  the  manner  in  which  these  were 
collected. 

Of  the  production  itself  little  need  be  said.  Whatever 
maybe  the  opinion  of  the  public  in  regard  to  it,  this  may  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  the  collecting  of  the  materials  out  of 
which  it  is  formed  was  attended  with  much  trouble,  and  no 
little  expense,  but  with  a  singular  degree  of  pleasure,  to  the 
author ;  and  that  but  for  the  urgent  and  latest  request  of 
him  whom,  when  alive  or  dead,  Scotchmen  have  always  de¬ 
lighted  to  honour,  it  might  never  have  assumed  its  present 
form.  It  is  what  it  professes  to  be — a  history,  in  which  the 
subject  has  been  stripped  of  everything  pertaining  to  fiction 
or  even  colouring  ;  so  that  the  reader  will  see  depicted,  in 
their  true  character,  this  singular  people,  in  the  description 
of  whom,  owing  to  the  suspicion  and  secrecy  of  their  nature, 
writers  generally  have  indulged  in  so  much  that  is  trifling 
and  even  fabulous. 

Such  as  the  work  is,  it  is  offered  as  a  contribution  toward 
the  filling  up  of  that  void  in  literature  to  which  Dr.  Bright 
alludes,  in  the  introduction  to  his  travels  in  Hungary,  when, 
in  reference  to  Iloyland’s  Survey,  and  some  scattered  notices 
of  the  Gipsies  in  periodicals,  he  says  :  “  We  may  hope  at 
some  time  to  collect,  satisfactorily,  the  history  of  this  extra¬ 
ordinary  race.”  It  is  likewise  intended  as  a  response  to  the 
call  of  a  writer  in  Blackwood,  in  which  he  says  :  “  Our  duty 
is  rather  to  collect  and  store  up  the  raw  materials  of  litera- 
o 


26 


EDITOR'S  PREFACE. 


ture — to  gather  into  our  repository  scattered  facts,  hints  and 
observations — which  more  elaborate  and  learned  authors 
may  afterwards  work  up  into  the  dignified  tissue  of  history 
or  science.” 

I  deem  it  proper  to  remark  that,  in  editing  the  work,  I 
have  taken  some  liberties  with  the  manuscript.  I  have,  for 
example,  recast  the  Introduction,  re-arranged  some  of  the 
materials,  and  drawn  more  fully,  in  some  instances,  upon  the 
author’s  authorities  ;  but  I  have  carefully  preserved  the 
facts  and  sentiments  of  the  original.  I  may  have  used  some 
expressions  a  little  familiar  and  perhaps  not  over-refined  in 
their  nature  ;  but  my  excuse  for  that  is,  that  they  are  illus¬ 
trative  of  a  subject  that  allows  the  use  of  them. 


EDITOR’S  INTRODUCTION. 


The  discovery  and  history  of  barbarous  races  of  men,  be¬ 
sides  affording  exquisite  gratification  to  the  general  mind  of 
civilized  society,  have  always  been  looked  upon  as  important 
means  toward  a  right  understanding  of  the  history  of  our 
species,  and  the  relation  in  which  it  stands  to  natural  and 
revealed  theology  ;  and  in  their  prosecution  have  produced, 
in  latter  times,  many  instances  of  the  most  indefatigable  dis¬ 
interestedness  and  greatest  efforts  of  true  courage  of  which 
our  nature  is  capable  ;  many,  in  the  person  of  the  traveller, 
philanthropist  and  missionary,  cheerfully  renouncing  in  their 
pursuit  every  comfort  of  civilized  life,  braving  death  itself 
in  every  variety  of  form,  and  leaving  their  bones  on  the  dis¬ 
tant  shore,  or  faraway  in  the  unknown  interior  of  the  dreary 
continent,  without  a  trace  of  their  fate  to  console  those  most 
dearly  attached  to  them.  The  result  of  the  discoveries 
hitherto  made  has  invariably  confirmed  the  conclusions  of  a 
few  superior  minds,  formed  without  the  assistance  drawn 
from  such  a  source,  that  under  whatever  circumstances  man 
is  placed,  and  whatever  advantages  he  may  enjoy,  there  is 
very  little  real  difference  between  the  characters,  intrinsi¬ 
cally  considered,  of  the  savage  and  man  in  what  is  considered 
a  civilized  community.  There  is  this  difference  between  what 
may  be  called  barbarism,  not  unfrequently  to  be  met  with  in 
a  civilized  community,  springing  from  the  depravity  natural 
to  man,  and  what  obtains  in  a  barbarous  tribe  or  nation  as 
such,  that,  in  the  former,  it  forms  the  exception  ;  the  brother, 
the  father,  or  the  son  of  the  person  of  it  often  exhibiting  the 
most  opposite  nature  and  conduct ;  while,  in  the  latter,  it 
forms  the  rule,  and  what  the  individual  cannot,  in  a  sense, 
avoid.  But,  in  making  this  distinction,  is  there  nothing  to  be 
found  within  the  former  sphere  somewhat  anomalous  to  the 
position  thus  presented  ? 

The  subject  of  the  following  enquiry  forms  the  exception, 

(27) 


28 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


and  from  its  being  the  only  instance  to  be  met  with  in  the 
history  of  Europe,  it  may  be  said  to  merit  the  greatest  con¬ 
sideration  of  the  statesman,  the  historian,  the  philosopher, 
and  the  Christian. 

It  does  not  appear  possible,  from  the  peculiar  mould  in 
which  the  European  mind  has  been  cast,  for  it  to  have  re¬ 
mained  in  that  state  of  immobility  which,  from  the  remotest 
antiquity,  seems  to  have  characterized  that  of  Asia  ;  in  which 
continent  society  has  remained  torpid  and  inactive,  contented 
with  what  it  has  inherited,  without  making  any  effort  at 
change  or  advancement.  This  peculiarity  of  character,  in 
connexion  with  the  influences  of  the  Christian  religion,  seems 
to  have  had  the  effect  of  bringing  about  that  thorough  amal¬ 
gamation  of  races  and  ideas  in  the  various  countries  of  Eu¬ 
rope  in  which  more  than  one  people  happened  to  occupy  the 
same  territory,  or  come  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  same 
government,  when  no  material  difference  in  religion  existed. 
In  no  country  has  such  an  amalgamation  been  more  happily 
consummated  than  in  our  own  ;  if  not  altogether  as  to  blood, 
at  least  as  to  feeling,  the  more  important  thing  of  the  two  ; 
the  physical  differences,  in  occasional  instances,  appearing  in 
some  localities,  on  the  closest  observation  of  those  curious 
individuals  who  make  such  a  subject  the  object  of  their 
learned  researches. 

Notwithstanding  what  has  been  said,  how  does  it  happen 
that  in  Europe,  but  especially  in  our  own  country,  there  ex¬ 
ists,  and  has  for  four  hundred  years  existed,  a  pretty  numer¬ 
ous  body  of  men  distinct  in  their  feelings  from  the  general 
population,  and  some  of  them  in  a  state  of  barbarism  nearly 
as  great  as  when  they  made  their  appearance  amongst  us  ? 
Such  a  thing  would  appear  to  us  in  no  way  remarkable  in 
the  stationary  condition  so  long  prevalent  in  Asia  ;  where, 
in  the  case  of  India,  for  example,  are  to  be  found,  inhabiting 
the  same  territory,  a  heterogeneous  population,  made  up  of  the 
remnants  of  many  nations  ;  where  so  many  languages  are 
spoken,  and  religions  or  superstitions  professed,  and  the  peo¬ 
ple  divided  into  so  many  castes,  which  are  separated  from 
each  other  on  the  most  trivial,  and,  to  Europeans,  ridicu¬ 
lous  and  generally  incomprehensible  points  ;  some  eating 
together,  and  others  not ;  some  eating  mutton,  and  others 
not  ;  some  beef  and  fowls,  others  vegetables,  milk,  but¬ 
ter  and  eggs,  but  no  flesh  or  fish ;  those  going  to  sea  not 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


29 


associating  with  those  remaining  at  home  ;  some  not  follow¬ 
ing  the  occupation  of  others  ;  and  all  showing  the  most  de¬ 
termined  antipathy  to  associate  with  each  other  where,  from 
the  numerous  facilities  so  essential  toward  the  perpetuation 
of  peculiar  modes  of  life,  and  the  want  of  the  powerful  ele¬ 
ments  of  assimilation  and  amalgamation  so  prominent  in  our 
division  of  the  human  race,  a  people  may  continue  in  a  stereo¬ 
typed  state  of  mind  and  habits  for  an  indefinite  length  of 
time.  But  in  a  country  that  is  generally  looked  upon  as 
the  bulwark  of  the  Reformation,  and  the  stronghold  of  Euro¬ 
pean  civilization,  how  does  it  happen  that  we  find  a  people, 
resembling  in  their  nature,  though  not  in  the  degree,  the  all 
but  fabulous  tribe  that  was  lately  to  be  found  in  the  dreary 
wastes  of  Newfoundland,  flying  from  the  approach,  and  cross¬ 
ing  the  imagination  of  the  fishermen  like  a  spectre  ?  Or  like 
the  wild  men  of  the  jungle,  in  some  of  the  oceanic  parts  of 
Asia,  having  no  homes,  roaming  during  the  dry  season  in  the 
forests,  and  sleeping  under  or  on  the  branches  of  trees,  and 
in  the  rainy  season  betaking  themselves  to  caves  or  shelter¬ 
ing  beneath  rocks,  making  their  beds  of  leaves,  and  living 
on  what  they  can  precariously  find,  such  as  roots  and  wild 
honey  ;  yet,  under  the  influence  of  the  missionary,  many  of 
them  now  raising  crops,  building  dwellings,  erecting  school- 
houses,  keeping  the  Sabbath,  and  praising  God?  But  some 
of  the  Gipsies  with  us  may  be  said  to  do  few  of  these  things. 
They  live  among  us,  yet  arc  not  of  us  ;  they  come  in  daily 
contact  with  us,  yet  keep  such  distance  from  the  community 
as  a  wild  fowl,  that  occasionally  finds  its  way  into  the  farm¬ 
yard,  does  in  shrinking  from  the  close  scrutiny  of  the  hus¬ 
bandman.  They  cling  like  bats  to  ruined  houses,  caves,  and 
old  lime-kilns  ;  and  pitch  their  tents  in  dry  water-courses, 
quarry-holes,  or  other  sequestered  places,  by  the  way-side, 
or  on  the  open  moor,  and  even  on  dung-heaps  for  the  warmth 
to  be  derived  from  them  during  the  winter  season,  and  live 
under  the  bare  boughs  of  the  forest  during  the  summer  ; — 
yet  amid  all  this  apparent  misery,  through  fair  means  or  foul, 
they  fare  well,  and  lead  what  some  call  a  happy  life  ;  while 
everything  connected  with  them  is  most  solicitously  wrapt 
up  in  inscrutable  mystery.  These  Gipsies  exhibit  to  the 
European  mind  the  most  inexplicable  moral  problem  on  re¬ 
cord  ;  in  so  far  as  such  phenomena  are  naturally  expected  to 
be  found  among  a  people  whom  the  rays  of  civilization  have 


30 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


never  reached  ;  while,  in  the  case  of  the  Gipsies,  the  first 
principles  of  nature  would  seem  to  be  set  at  defiance. 

“And  thus  ’(is  ever  ;  what’s  within  our  ken. 

Owl-like,  we  blink  at,  and  direct  our  search 
To  fnrtherest  Inde,  in  quest  of  novelties  ; 

Whilst  here  at  home,  upon  our  very  thresholds, 

Ten  thousand  objects  hurtle  into  view, 

Of  interest  wonderful.” 

But  to  give  a  fair  description  of  the  tented  Gipsy  life,  1 
cannot  employ  more  appropriate  language  than  that  of 
Doctor  Bright,  when,  in  reference  to  the  English  Gipsies,  he 
says  :  “I  am  confident  that  we  are  apt  to  appreciate  much 
too  lightly  the  actual  happiness  enjoyed  by  this  class  of 
people,  who,  beneath  their  ragged  tents,  in  the  pure  air  of 
the  heath,  may  well  excite  the  envy  of  many  of  the  poor, 
though  better  provided  with  domestic  accommodation,  in  the 
unwholesome  haunts  of  the  town.  At  the  approach  of  night, 
they  draw  around  their  humble  but  often  abundant  board, 
and  then  retiring  to  their  tent,  leave  a  faithful  dog  to  guard 
its  entrance.  With  the  first  rays  of  morning,  they  again 
meet  the  day,  pursue  their  various  occupations,  or,  rolling 
up  their  tents  and  packing  all  their  property  on  an  ass,  set 
forward  to  seek  the  delights  of  some  fresh  heath,  or  the 
protection  of  some  shaded  copse.  I  leave  it  to  those  who 
have  visited  the  habitations  of  the  poor,  to  draw  a  compari¬ 
son  between  the  activity,  the  free  condition,  and  the  pure 
air  enjoyed  by  the  Gipsy,  and  the  idleness,  the  debauchery, 
and  the  filth  in  which  the  majority  of  the  poorer  classes  are 
enveloped.” — “  No  sooner  does  a  stranger  approach  their  fire 
on  the  heath,  than  a  certain  reserve  spreads  itself  through 
the  little  family.  The  women  talk  to  him  in  mystic  language  ; 
they  endeavour  to  amuse  him  with  secrets  of  futurity  ;  they 
suspect  him  to  be  a  spy  upon  their  actions  ;  and  he  generally 
departs  as  little  acquainted  with  their  true  character  as  he 
came.  Let  this,  however,  wear  away  ;  let  him  gain  their 
confidence,  and  he  will  find  them  conversable,  amusing,  sen¬ 
sible  and  shrewd  ;  civil,  but  without  servility ;  proud  of  their 
independence  ;  and  able  to  assign  reasons  for  preferring 
their  present  condition  to  any  other  in  civilized  society. 
He  will  find  them  strongly  attached  to  each  other,  and  free 
from  many  cares  which  too  often  render  the  married  life  a 
source  of  discontent.” 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


31 


In  -what  direction  may  we  look  for  the  causes  of  sucli  an 
anomaly  in  the  history  of  our  common  civilization  ?  Tliis 
question,  however,  will  be  discussed  by  and  by  :  in  the 
meantime  let  us  consider  the  fact  itself. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  fifteenth  century  there  first  ap¬ 
peared  in  Europe  large  hordes  of  a  people  of  singular  com¬ 
plexion  and  hair,  and  mode  of  life — apparently  an  Asiatic 
race — which,  in  spite  of  the  sanguinary  efforts  of  the  gov¬ 
ernments  of  the  countries  through  which  they  passed,  con¬ 
tinued  to  spread  over  the  continent,  and  have  existed  in 
large  numbers  to  this  day ;  many  of  them  in  the  same 
condition,  and  following  the  same  modes  of  life,  now  as 
then ;  and  preserving  their  language,  if  not  in  its 
original  purity,  yet  without  its  having  lost  its  character. 
This  circumstance  has  given  rise  in  recent  times  to  several 
researches,  with  no  certain  result,  as  to  the  country  which 
they  left  on  entering  Europe,  and  still  less  as  to  the  place 
or  the  circumstances  of  their  origin.  The  latter  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at,  when  it  is  considered  that,  in  the  instances 
of  even  the  most  polished  nations  of  antiquity,  nothing  is 
to  be  found  as  to  their  origin  beyond  what  is  contained  in 
the  myths  and  fables  of  their  earliest  poets  and  historians. 
But  considering  the  traces  that  have  been  left  of  the  origin 
and  early  history  of  the  people  and  kingdoms  of  Europe, 
subsequent  to  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire,  amid  the  bar¬ 
barism  and  confusion  attending  their  establishment,  and,  in 
many  respects,  the  darkness  immediately  and  for  a  long  time 
following  it,  we  would  naturally  think  that,  for  an  event 
happening  so  recently  as  the  fifteenth  century,  some  reliable 
traces  would  have  been  discovered  and  bequeathed  to  us  on 
a  subject  that  has  baffled  the  antiquarians  of  modern  times. 

If,  however,  there  is  any  doubt  as  to  the  country  which 
they  left  on  entering  Europe,  and  their  place  of  origin,  there 
remains  for  us  to  consider  the  people  generally,  and  in  an 
especial  manner  those  who  have  located  themselves  in  Scot¬ 
land  ;  and  give  an  account  of  their  subsequent  history  in  its 
various  aspects,  and  their  present  condition.  But  before 
doing  that,  it  would  be  well  to  take  a  general  but  cursory 
view  of  the  political  as  well  as  social  condition  of  Europe 
at  the  time  they  made  their  appearance  in  it,  so  as,  in  some 
measure,  to  account  for  the  circumstance  of  no  trace  being 
left  of  their  previous  history  ;  form  an  estimate  of  the  rela- 


32 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


tive  position  in  which  they  have  stood  to  its  general  popu¬ 
lation  since  ;  and  attempt  to  realize  the  feeling  with  which 
they  have  always  been  regarded  by  our  own  people,  so  as 
to  account  for  that  singular  degree  of  dread  and  awe  which 
have  always  been  associated  with  the  mention  of  their 
n'ame  ;  the  foundation  of  which  has  been  laid  in  infancy. 

That  which  most  forcibly  strikes  the  mind  of  the  student, 
:n  reading  the  history  of  the  age  in  which  the  Gipsies 
entered  Europe,  is  the  political  turmoil  in  which  nearly  the 
whole  of  the  continent  seems  to  have  been  embroiled  for 
the  greater  part  of  a  century.  The  desperate  wars  waged 
by  England  against  what  has  been  termed  her  natural 
enemy,  for  the  recovery  and  retention  of  her  ancient  contin¬ 
ental  possessions,  and  the  struggle  of  the  other  for  her  bare 
existence  ;  the  long  and  bloody  civil  wars  of  England,  and 
the  distracted  state  of  France,  torn  with  dissensions  within, 
and  menaced  at  various  points  from  without ;  the  long  and 
fanatical  struggle  of  religion  and  race,  between  the  Span¬ 
iards  and  their  invaders,  for  the  possession  of  the  peninsula  ; 
the  brave  stand  made  by  the  Swiss  for  that  independence  so 
much  theirs '  by  nature  ;  the  religious  wars  of  the  Hussites, 
and  the  commotions  throughout  central  Europe  ;  the  per¬ 
petual  internal  feuds  of  the  corrupt  and  turbulent  southern 
republics  ;  the  approaching  dissolution  of  the  dissolute 
Byzantine  empire  ;  the  appalling  progress  of  that  terrible 
power  that  had  emerged  from  the  wilds  of  Asia,  subdued 
the  empire,  and  threatened  Europe  from  its  vulnerable 
point ;  all  these  seem  to  have  been  enough  to  have  engrossed 
the  mental  energies  of  the  various  countries  of  Europe,  and 
prevented  any  notice  being  taken  of  the  appearance  of  the 
race  in  question. 

But  over  and  above  these  convulsions,  sufficient  as  they 
were  to  exclusively  engage  the  attention  of  the  small  amount 
of  cultivated  intellect  then  in  the  world,  there  was  one 
that  was  calculated  even  to  paralyze  the  clergy,  to  whom, 
in  that  age,  fell  the  business  of  recording  passing  events, 
and  which  seems  to  have  prevented  their  even  taking  notice 
of  important  matters  in  the  history  of  that  time.  I  mean 
the  schism  that  for  so  long  rent  the  church  into  fragments, 
the  greatest  schism,  indeed,  that  the  world  ever  saw,  when, 
for  so  many  years,  two  and  even  three  Popes  reigned  at 
once,  each  anathematizing  and  excommunicating  the  other, 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


33 


for  a  schism  which,  after  an  infinity  of  intrigues,  was  ulti¬ 
mately  so  happily  patched  up  to  the  comfort  of  the  church. 
On  the  death  of  Urban  Y,  Gregory  XI  became  Pope,  but 
soon  after  died,  and  was  succeeded  by  Urban  YI ;  but  the 
Cardinals,  who  were  in  the  French  interest,  after  treating 
him  as  Pope  for  a  short  time,  annulled  the  whole  proceedings, 
on  the  plea  of  having  been  constrained  in  the  election  by 
the  turbulence  of  the  Roman  populace,  but  really  on  account 
of  the  extraordinary  harshness  with  which  he  began  his 
reign,  and  chose  one  of  themselves  in  his  stead,  under  the 
name  of  Clement  YII.  The  former  remained  at  Rome,  and 
was  supported  by  Italy,  the  Empire,  England  and  the  North  ; 
while  Clement  proceeded  to  Avignon,  and  was  acknow¬ 
ledged  by  France,  Spain,  Scotland,  and  Sicily.  Urban  was 
respectively  succeeded  by  Boniface  IX,  Innocent  VI,  and 
Gregory  XII  ;  and  Clement,  at  his  death,  in  1394,  by 
Benedict  XIII,  the  most  implacable  spirit  in  prolonging  the 
schism,  from  whose  authority  France  for  a  time  withdrew, 
without  acknowledging  any  other  head,  but  afterwards 
returned,  at  the  same  time  urging  his  resignation  of  the 
chair.  At  last  the  Cardinals,  disgusted  with  the  unprin¬ 
cipled  dissimulation  of  both,  and  at  their  wits’  end  in 
devising  a  way  to  stay  the  scandal,  and  build  up  the 
influence  of  the  whole  church,  then  so  rapidly  sinking  in  the 
estimation  of  the  world,  amidst  such  unheard  of  calamities, 
deserted  both,  and  summoned  a  council,  which  met  at  Pisa, 
and  in  which  both  were  deposed,  and  another,  in  the  person 
of  Alexander  V,  elected  to  fill  the  chair.  But  in  place  of 
proving  a  remedy,  the  step  rendered  the  schism  still  more 
furious.  After  that,  John  XXIII,  successor  to  Alexander  Y, 
was  reluctantly  prevailed  on  to  call  a  council,  which  accord¬ 
ingly  met  at  Constance,  in  1414,  but  in  which  he  himself 
was  deposed.  Martin  V  being  chosen,  was  succeeded  by 
Eugenius  1Y.  But  the  Fathers  of  Basle  elected  Felix  Y, 
thus  renewing  the  schism,  and  dividing  the  church  for 
some  years,  from  France  and  the  Empire  observing  a  neu¬ 
trality,  while  England  adhered  to  Eugenius,  Aragon  and 
the  smaller  states  to  Felix  ;  but  the  partisans  of  Felix 
gradually  losing  their  influence,  Nicholas  Y,  the  successor 
of  Eugenius,  after  much  cajolery,  prevailed  on  him  to  resign 
his  claim,  and  thus  restored  peace  to  the  world. 

At  that  time  the  kinds  of  learning  taught  were,  in  the 


34 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


greater  part  of  Europe,  confined  to  few,  being  almost  entirely 
monopolised  by  the  clergy  and  a  few  laymen  ;  by  the  former 
for  the  dogmatism  of  the  schools  and  the  study  of  the  canon 
law,  and  by  the  latter  for  civil  jurisprudence  and  medicine. 
Even  the  sons  of  nobles  were  generally  wholly  illiterate, 
one  of  them,  only,  being  educated,  to  act  as  the  clerk  of  the 
family.  We  are  even  told  of  a  noble,  when  a  conspiracy 
was  detected,  with  the  name  of  his  son  attached  to  it,  saying, 
“  Thank  God,  none  of  my  children  were  ever  taught  to 
write.”  The  great  mass  of  the  people,  and  especially  those 
of  the  lower  classes,  were  as  ignorant  of  direct  educational 
training  as  a  tribe  of  semi-barbarians  at  the  present  day. 
Many  of  the  nobility,  although  as  scantily  educated  as  the 
lowest  of  our  own  people,  and  having  as  much  difficulty  in 
inditing  an  epistle  as  some  of  these  would  now  have,  would 
still  admirably  maintain  their  position  in  such  a  state  of  so¬ 
ciety,  by  the  influence  which  their  high  birth  and  breeding, 
elevated  bearing,  superiority  of  character,  and  possession 
of  domain,  gave  them  ;  and  by  the  traditionary  feudal  awe 
that  had  sunk  so  deeply  into  the  feelings  of  their  compara¬ 
tively,  and  often  absolutely,  abject  dependents  and  followers, 
extending  itself,  when  unaccompanied  by  overt  acts  of  op¬ 
pression,  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  smaller  towns,  where  so 
many  restraints  surrounded  their  personal  independence, 
from  their  precarious  modes  of  living,  owing  to  all  so  much 
depending  on  each  other  for  a  subsistence,  and  the  endless 
jealousies  prevailing  among  them. 

At  the  same  time  all  classes,  although  frequently  possess¬ 
ing  a  sufficiency,  if  not  an  abundance,  of  the  rough  neces¬ 
saries  of  life,  enjoyed  nothing  of  the  comfort  and  elegancies 
of  subsequent  times.  The  house  of  many  a  noble  presented 
such  a  plainness  in  furnishing  as  a  person,  in  very  moderate 
circumstances,  would  now  be  almost  ashamed  to  possess. 
The  circumstances  of  the  middle  classes  were  much  more 
lowly ;  plain  boards  and  wooden  trenchers,  few  beds  but 
many  shake-clotuns,  rough  stools  and  no  chairs,  with  won¬ 
derfully  few  apartments  relative  to  the  size  of  the  family, 
and  much  sleeping  on  straw-heaps  in  the  cock-loft,  marked 
the  style  of  living  of  a  class  now  deemed  very  respectable. 
The  huts  of  the  poorest  class  were  as  often  composed  of 
“  sticks  and  dirt”  as  any  other  material,  with  'plenishing  to 
correspond.  There  was  a  marked  exception  to  this  state 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


35 


of  comparative  barbarism  to  be  found,  however,  in  some  of 
the  cities  of  Italy,  and  other  parts  of  the  Mediterranean, 
the  seats  of  the  flourishing  republics  of  the  middle  ages ; 
arising  not  only  from  the  affluence  which  follows  in  the 
wake  of  extended  commerce  and  manufactures,  but  also 
from  the  feelings  with  which  the  wreck  of  a  highly  polished 
antiquity  inspired  a  people  in  whom  the  seeds  of  the  former 
civilization  had  not  died  out ;  heightened,  as  it  must  have 
been,  by  the  influence  of  the  once  celebrated,  but  then  de¬ 
caying,  splendour  which  the  court  of  the  long  line  of  eastern 
emperors  shed  over  the  countries  lying  contiguous  to  it. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  cities  of  the  north,  on  the  other 
hand,  were  marked  by  a  degree  of  substantial  wealth  and 
comfort,  sense  and  ease,  civility  and  liberality,  which  were 
apt  to  distinguish  a  people  situated  as  they  were,  without 
the  traditions  and  objects,  meeting  the  eye  at  every  step  in 
the  south,  of  the  greatest  degree  of  culture  in  the  polite 
arts  of  life  unto  which  a  people  can  attain.  But,  with  the 
exception  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  cities,  and  some  of 
those  in  a  few  of  the  cities  of  western  Europe,  the  clergy 
and  some  of  the  laity,  the  people,  as  such,  were  sunk  in  deep 
ignorance  and  superstition,  living  in  a  state  of  which,  in  our 
favoured  times,  we  can  form  no  adequate  conception.  Then, 
life  and  property  were  held  in  little  respect,  and  law  tram¬ 
pled  upon,  even  if  it  existed  under  more  than  the  shadow  of 
its  present  form  ;  and  no  roads  existed  but  such  as  were  for 
the  greater  part  of  the  year  impassable,  and  lay  through 
forests,  s.wamps  and  other  uncultivated  wastes,  the  resorts  of 
numerous  banditti.  Then,  almost  no  intercourse  existed  be¬ 
tween  the  people  of  one  part  of  a  country  and  another, 
when  all  were  exceedingly  sanguinary  and  rude. 

What  wonder,  then,  that,  under  such  circumstances,  the 
race  in  question  should  have  stolen  into  Europe  unobserved, 
without  leaving  a  trace  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
the  movement  ?  The  way  by  which  they  are  supposed  to 
have  entered  Western  Europe  was  by  Transylvania,  a  sup¬ 
position  which,  if  not  true,  is  at  least  most  likely.  Although, 
when  first  publicly  taken  notice  of  in  Europe,  they  were  found 
to  move  about  in  large  bands,  it  is  unlikely  that  they  would 
do  that  while  entering,  but  only  after  having  experienced 
the  degree  of  toleration  and  hospitality  which  the  represen¬ 
tation  of  their  condition  called  forth  ;  at  least  if  wo  judge 


3G 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


from  the  cunning  which  they  have  displayed  in  moving  about 
alter  their  true  character  became  known.  Asia  having  been 
so  long  their  home,  where  from  time  immemorial  they  are 
supposed  to  have  wandered,  they  would  have  no  misgiving, 
from  their  knowledge  of  its  inhabitants,  in  passing  through 
any  part  of  it.  But  in  contemplating  an  entry  into  Europe 
they  must  have  paused,  as  one,  without  any  experience  of  his 
own  or  of  others,  would  in  entering  on  the  discovery  of  an 
unknown  continent,  and  anxiously  examined  the  merchants 
and  travellers  visiting  Europe,  on  the  various  particulars  of 
the  country  most  essential  to  their  prospects,  and  especially 
as  to  the  characteristics  of  the  people.  There  seems  no  rea¬ 
son  for  thinking  that  they  were  expelled  from  Asia  against 
their  will ;  and  as  little  for  supposing  that  they  fled  rather 
than  submit  to  a  particular  creed,  if  we  judge  from  the 
great  readiness  with  which,  in  form,  they  have  submitted  to 
such  in  Europe,  when  it  would  serve  their  purpose.  The 
only  conclusion,  in  regard  to  their  motive  of  migration,  to 
which  we  can  come,  is,  that  having,  in  the  course  of  time, 
gradually  found  their  way  to  the  confines  of  Western  Asia., 
and  most  likely  into  parts  of  Northern  Africa,  and  there 
heard  of  the  growing  riches  of  modern  Europe,  they,  with 
the  restlessness  and  unsettledness  of  their  race,  longed  to 
reach  the  Eldorado  of  their  hopes — a  country  teeming  with 
what  they  were  in  quest  of,  where  they  would  meet  with  no 
rivals  of  their  own  race  to  cross  their  path.  The  step  must 
have  been  long  and  earnestly  debated,  possibly  for  genera¬ 
tions,  ere  it  was  taken  ;  spies  after  spies  may  have  surveyed 
and  reported  on  the  country,  and  the  movement  been  made 
the  subject  of  many  deliberations,  till  at  last  the  influence, 
address,  or  resolution  of  some  chief  may  have  precipitated 
them  upon  it,  possibly  at  a  time  when  some  accidental  or  un¬ 
avoidable  cause  urged  them  to  it.  Nor  would  it  be  long 
ere  their  example  was  followed  by  others  of  the  tribe  ;  some 
from  motives  of  friendship  ;  others  from  jealousy  at  the  idea 
of  all  the  imagined  advantages  being  reaped  by  those  going 
before  them  ;  and  others  from  the  desire  of  revenging  un¬ 
settled  injuries,  and  jealousy  combined.  After  the  die  had 
been  cast,  their  first  step  would  be  to  choose  leaders  to  pro¬ 
ceed  before  the  horde,  spy  out  the  richness  of  the  land,  and 
organize  stations  for  those  to  follow  ;  and  then  continue  the 
migration  till  all  the  horde  had  passed  over.  Considering 


EDITORS  INTRODUCTION. 


37 


that  the  representative  part  of  the  Gipsies  have  retained 
their  peculiarities  almost  uncontaminated,  it  is  in  the  highest 
degree  probable,  it  may  even  be  assumed  as  certain,  that  this 
was  the  manner  in  which  they  entered  Europe  :  at  first  strag¬ 
glers,  with  systematic  relays  of  stations  and  couriers,  fol¬ 
lowed  up  by  such  small,  yet  numerous  and  closely  following, 
companies,  as  almost  to  escape  the  notice  of  the  authorities 
of  the  countries  through  which  they  passed  ;  a  mode  of  tra¬ 
velling  which  they  still  pursue  in  Great  Britain.  But  when 
any  special  obstacle  was  to  be  encountered  in  their  journey 
— such,  for  example,  as  the  hostility  of  the  inhabitants  of  any 
particular  place — they  would  concentrate  their  strength,  so 
as  to  force  their  way  through.  Their  next  step  would  be  to 
arrange  among  themselves  the  district  of  country  each  tribe 
was  to  occupy.  After  their  arrival,  they  seem  to  have  appeared 
publicly  in  large  bands,  growing  emboldened  by  the  generous 
reception  which  they  met  with  for  some  time  after  their 
appearance  ;  and  they  seem  to  have  had  the  sagacity  to 
know,  that  if  they  secured  the  favour  of  the  great,  that  of 
the  small  would  necessarily  follow. 

But  if  the  first  appearance  of  the  Gipsies  in  Europe  had  a 
different  complexion  from  what  I  have  conjectured,  there  are 
other  causes  to  which  may  be  attributed  the  fact  of  its  not 
being  known.  Among  these  is  to  be  found  the  distracted 
state  of  the  Eastern  Empire  in  its  struggles  with  the  Turks, 
which  led  to  the  capture  of  its  capital,  and  the  subversion 
of  the  Greek  rule  in  the  East.  The  literary  and  other  men 
of  note,  scattered  over  the  provinces,  likely  to  chronicle  such 
an  event  as  the  appearance  of  the  Gipsies,  must  necessarily 
have  betaken  themselves  to  the  capital,  as  each  district  sub¬ 
mitted  to  the  conquerors,  and  so  lost  the  opportunity  of  wit¬ 
nessing  the  migration,  under  such  circumstances  as  would 
have  made  it  observable,  assuming  that  the  Gipsies  travelled 
in  large  companies,  which,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  was  not,  on  all  occasions,  likely.  The  surrounding 
countries  having  been  the  theatre  of  so  many  changes  in 
the  history  of  the  human  family,  and  the  inhabitants  having 
undergone  so  many  changes  of  masters,  leading  to  so  many 
distinct  races,  from  the  intellectual  and  cultivated  Greek  to 
the  barbarous  Arab  and  dusky  Moor,  of  so  various  hues  and 
habits,  many  of  whom  would  be  found  in  such  a  city  as  Con¬ 
stantinople,  what  peculiarity  was  there  about  the  Gipsies  to 


38 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


attract  the  notice  of  the  haughty  Greek,  characterized  as  he 
was  by  all  the  feelings  of  disdain  which  his  ancestors  dis¬ 
played  in  not  even  naming  the  Jews  and  early  Christians? 
Then,  if  we  consider  the  peculiar  turn  which  the  new-born 
literary  pursuits  of  learned  men  assumed  during  that  age — 
how  it  was  exclusively  confined  to  the  restoration  of  the 
classics,  and  followed  in  Europe  by  the  influx  of  the  Greeks 
during  the  troubles  of  their  country,  we  will  find  another 
reason  for  the  manner  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  Gipsies 
not  being  known.  Nor  is  it  to  be  expected  that  any  light 
would  be  thrown  on  the  subject  by  the  memoirs  of  any  of 
our  own  countrymen,  visiting  the  East  at  a  time  when  so  little 
intercourse  existed  between  the  West  and  that  part  of 
the  world  ;  nothing  perhaps  beyond  a  commercial  or  mari¬ 
time  adventurer,  under  the  flag  of  another  nation,  or  one 
whose  whole  acquirements  consisted  in  laying  lance  in  rest 
and  mounting  the  breach  in  an  assault ;  it  being  a  rare  thing 
even  to  see  an  English  ship  in  the  Mediterranean  during  the 
whole  of  the  fifteenth  century. 

That  the  Gipsies  were  a  tribe  of  Hindoo  Suallas,  driven, 
by  the  cruelty  of  Timour,  to  leave  Ilindostan,  is  not  for  a 
moment  to  be  entertained  ;  for  why  should  that  conqueror 
have  specially  troubled  himself  with  the  lowest  class  of  Hin¬ 
doos  ?  or  why  should  they,  in  particular,  have  left  Hindos- 
tan  ?  It  would  have  been  the  ruling ,  or  at  least  the  higher , 
classes  of  Hindoo  society  against  which  Timour  would  have 
exercised  any  acts  of  cruelty ;  the  lowest  would  be  pretty 
much  beneath  his  notice.  Not  only  do  we  not  read  of  such 
a  people  as  the  Hindoos  ever  having  left  their  country  on 
any  such  account — for  it  is  contrary  to  their  genius  and  feel¬ 
ings  of  caste  to  do  so — but  the  opinion  that  the  Gipsies  left 
India  on  Timour’s  account  rests  on  no  evidence  whatever, 
beyond  the  simple  circumstance  that  they  were  first  taken 
notice  of  in  Europe  about  the  time  of  his  overrunning  India. 
Mr.  Borrow  very  justly  remarks  :  “  It  appears  singular  that 
if  they  left  their  native  land  to  escape  from  Timour,  they 
should  never  have  mentioned,  in  the  western  world,  the  name 
of  that  scourge  of  the  human  race,  nor  detailed  the  history 
of  their  flight  and  sufferings,  which  assuredly  would  have 
procured  them  sympathy  ;  the  ravages  of  Timour  being  al¬ 
ready  but  too  well  known  in  Europe.”  Still,  Mr.  Borrow 
does  not  venture  to  give  reasons  for  the  trustworthiness  or 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


39 


untrustworthiness  of  a  passage  in  Arabschah’s  life  of 
Timour,  in  which  it  is  said  that  Gipsies  were  found  in 
Samarcand  at  a  time  before  that  conqueror  had  even  directed 
his  thoughts  to  the  invasion  of  India.  The  description 
given  of  these  Zingari  or  Gipsies  of  Samarcand  is  as  ap¬ 
plicable  to  the  Gipsies  as  possibly  can  be  ;  for  in  it  it  is 
said,  “  Some  were  wrestlers,  others  gladiators,  others  pugi¬ 
lists.  These  people  were  much  at  variance,  so  that  hostili¬ 
ties  and  battling  were  continually  arising  amongst  them. 
Each  band  had  its  chief  and  subordinate  officers.”  How 
applicable  this  description  is  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  down 
to  so  late  a  period  as  the  end  of  last  century  1 

If  there  is  little  reason  for  thinking  that  the  Gipsies  left 
India  owing  to  the  cruelties  of  Timour,  there  is  less  for 
supposing,  as  Mr.  Borrow  supposes,  that  their  being  called 
Egyptians  originated,  not  with  themselves,  but  with  others  ; 
for  he  says  that  the  tale  of  their  being  Egyptians  “  probably 
originated  amongst  the  priests  and  learned  men  of  the  east 
of  Europe,  who,  startled  by  the  sudden  apparition  of  bands 
of  people  foreign  in  appearance  and  language,  skilled  in 
divination  and  the  occult  arts,  endeavoured  to  find  in  Scrip¬ 
ture  a  clue  to  such  a  phenomenon  ;  the  result  of  which  was 
that  the  Romas  (Gipsies)  of  Hindostan  were  suddenly  trans¬ 
formed  into  Egyptian  penitents,  a  title  which  they  have  ever 
since  borne  in  various  parts  of  Europe.”  Why  should  the 
priests  and  learned  men  of  the  east  of  Europe  go  to  the 
Bible  to  find  the  origin  of  such  a  people  as  the  Gipsies  ? 
What  did  priests  and  learned  men  know  of  the  Bible  at  the 
beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  ?  Did  every  priest,  at 
that  time,  know  there  even  was  such  a  book  as  the  Bible  in 
existence  ?  The  priests  and  learned  men  of  the  east  of  Eu¬ 
rope  were  more  likely  to  turn  to  the  eastern  nations  for  the 
origin  of  the  Gipsies,  than  to  Egypt,  were  the  mere  matter 
of  the  skill  of  the  Gipsies  in  divination  and  the  occult  arts 
to  lead  them  to  make  any  enquiry  into  their  history.  But 
what  could  have  induced  the  priests  and  learned  men  to 
take  any  such  particular  interest  in  the  Gipsies  ?  When 
the  Gipsies  entered  Europe,  they  would  feel  under  the  neces¬ 
sity  of  saying  who  they  were.  Having  committed  themselves 
to  that  point,  how  could  they  afterwards  call  themselves  by 
that  name  which  Mr.  Borrow  supposes  the  priests  and 
learned  men  to  have  given  them  ?  Or,  1  should  rather  say, 


40 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


liow  could  the  priests  and  learned  men  think  of  giving  them 
a  name  after  they  themselves  had  said  who  they  were  ?  And 
did  the  priests  and  learned  men  invent  the  idea  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  being  pilgrims,  or  bestow  upon  their  leaders  the  titles 
of  dukes,  earls,  lords,  counts  and  knights  of  Little  Egypt? 
Assuredly  not ;  all  these  matters  must  have  originated  with 
the  Gipsies  themselves.  The  truth  is,  Mr.  Borrow  has  evi¬ 
dently  had  no  opportunities  of  learning,  or,  at  least,  has  not 
duly  appreciated,  the  real  mental  acquirements  of  the  early 
Gipsies,  an  idea  of  which  will  be  found  in  the  history  of 
the  race  on  their  first  general  arrival  in  Scotland,  about  a 
hundred  years  after  they  were  first  taken  notice  of  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  during  which  time  they  are  not  supposed  to  have 
made  any  great  progress  in  mental  condition.  I  may  ven¬ 
ture  to  say  that  the  prophecy  of  Ezekiel*  in  regard  to  the 
scattering  of  the  Egyptians,  does  not  apply  to  the  Gipsies, 
for  this  reason,  that  such  of  these  Egyptians  as  were  carried 
away  captive  would  become  lost  among  other  nations,  wdiile 
the  “mixed  multitude ”  which  left  Egypt  with  the  Jews,  tra¬ 
velled  East,  their  oivn  masters,  and  became  the  origin  of  the 
Gipsy  nation  throughout  the  world.  If  we  could  but  find 
traces  of  an  Egyptian  origin  among  the  Gipsies  of  Asia,  say 
Central  and  Western  Asia,  the  question  would  be  beyond 
dispute.  But  that  might  be  a  matter  of  some  trouble.  I 
am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  people  in  India  corresponding 
to  the  Gipsies  in  Europe,  will  be  found  among  those  tented 
tribes  who  perform  certain  services  to  the  British  armies  ; 
at  all  events  there  is  such  a  tribe  in  India,  who  are  called 
Gipsies  by  the  Europeans  who  come  in  contact  with  them. 
A  short  time  ago,  one  of  these  people,  who  followed  the  occu¬ 
pation  of  a  camel  driver  in  India,  found  his  way  to  England, 

*  Ezelt.  xxix.  12,-14,  and  xxx.  10,  23,  and  26. — The  scattering  of  the 
Egyptians,  here  foretold,  is  a  subject  about  which  very  little  is  known. 
Scott,  in  commenting  on  it,  says :  “  History  informs  us  that  Nebuchadnez¬ 
zar  conquered  Egypt,  and  carrying  multitudes  of  prisoners  hence,  dispersed 
them  in  different  parts  of  his  dominions:  and  doubtless  great  numbers 
perished,  or  took  shelter  in  other  nations  at  the  same  time.  But  we  are 
not  sufficiently  informed  of  the  transactions  of  those  ages,  to  show  the  exact 
fulfilment  of  this  part  of  the  prophecy,  as  lias  been  done  in  other  instances.” 

The  bulk  of  the  Egyptians  were  doubtless  restored  to  their  country,  ar 
promised  in  Ezek.  xxix.  13,  14,  and  it  is  not  impossible  that  the  Gipsies  are 
the  descendants  of  such  as  did  not  return  to  Egypt.  The  language  which 
they  now  speak  proves  nothing  to  the  contrary,  as,  since  the  time  in  ques¬ 
tion,  they  have  had  opportunities  to  learn  and  unlearn  many  languages. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


41 


and  “  pulled  up  ”  with  some  English  Gipsies,  whom  he  recog¬ 
nized  as  his  own  people  ;  at  least  he  found  that  they  had  the 
ways  and  ceremonies  of  them.  But  it  would  be  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  such  a  tribe  in  India  did  not  follow  various 
occupations.  Bishop  Heber,  on  several  occasions,  speaks  of 
certain-  tents  of  people  whom  he  met  in  India,  as  Gipsies. 
But  I  can  conceive  nothing  more  difficult  than  an  attempt  to 
elucidate  the  history  of  any  of  the  infinity  of  sects,  castes,  or 
tribes  to  be  met  with  in  India.*  What  evidently  leads  Mr. 
Borrow  and  others  astray,  in  the  matter  of  the  origin  of  the 
Gipsies,  is,  that  they  conclude  that,  because  the  language 
spoken  by  the  Gipsies  is  apparently,  or  for  the  most  part, 
Hindostanee,  therefore  the  people  speaking  it  originated  in 
Hindostan  ;  as  just  a  conclusion  as  it  would  be  to  maintain 
that  the  Negroes  in  Liberia  originated  in  England  because 
they  speak  the  English  language  ! 

The  leaders  of  the  Gipsies,  on  the  arrival  of  the  body  in 
Europe,  and  for  a  long  time  afterwards,  seem  to  have  been 
a  superior  class  to  those  known  as  Gipsies  to-day  ;  although, 
if  the  more  intelligent  of  the  race  were  observable  to  the 
general  eye,  they  would,  in  many  respects,  compare  most 

*  Abb6  Dubois  says :  “  In  every  country  of  the  Peninsula,  great  num¬ 
bers  of  foreign  families  are  to  be  found,  whose  ancestors  had  been  obliged 
to  emigrate  thither,  in  times  of  trouble  or  famine,  from  their  native  land,  and 
to  establish  themselves  amongst  strangers.  This  species  of  emigration  is 
very  common  in  all  the  countries  of  India ;  but  what  is  most  remarkable  is, 
that  in  a  foreign  land,  these  emigrants  preserve,  from  generation  to  generation , 
their  own  language  and  national  peculiarities.  Many  instances  might  be 
pointed  out  of  such  foreign  families,  settled  four  or  five  hundred  years  in  the 
district  they  now  inhabit,  without  approximating  in  the  least  to  the  man¬ 
ners,  fashions,  or  even  to  the  language,  of  the  nation  where  they  have  been 
for  so  many  generations  naturalized.  They  still  preserve  the  remembrance 
of  their  origin,  and  keep  up  the  ceremonies  and  usages  of  the  land  where 
their  ancestors  were  born,  without  ever  receiving  any  tincture  of  the  parti¬ 
cular  habits  of  the  countries  where  they  live.” — Preface  xvii. 

At  page  470,  he  gives  an  instance  of  a  wandering  tribe  in  the  Mysore  and 
Telinga  country,  originally  employed  in  agriculture,  who,  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  previously,  took  up  their  vagrant  and  wandering  life,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  the  severe  treatment  which  the  governor  of  the  province  was 
going  to  inflict  upon  some  of  their  favourite  chiefs.  To  this  kind  of  life  they 
have  grown  so  much  accustomed,  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  reclaim 
them  to  any  fixed  or  sedentary  habits;  and  they  have  never  entertained  a 
thought  of  resuming  their  ancient  manners.  They  sojourn  in  the  open 
fields,  under  small  tents  of  bamboo,  and  wander  from  place  to  place  as 
humour  dictates.  They  amount  to  seven  or  eight  thousand  individuals, 
are  divided  into  tribes,  and  are  under  the  government  of  chiefs,  and  main¬ 
tain  a  great  respect  for  the  property  of  others. 


42 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


favourably  with  many  of  our  middle  classes.  If  the  leaders 
of  the  Gipsies,  at  that  time,  fell  behind  some  of  even  the  no¬ 
bility,  in  the  pittance  of  the  education  of  letters  which  the 
latter  possessed,  they  made  up  for  it  in  that  practical  sagacity, 
the  acquisition  of  which  is  almost  unavoidable  in  the  school  in 
which,  from  infancy,  they  had  been  educated — that  of  provid¬ 
ing  for  the  shifts  and  exigencies  of  which  their  lives,  as  a 
whole,  consisted  ;  besides  showing  that  superior  aptitude  for 
many  of  the  things  of  every-day  life,  so  inseparable  from  the 
success  to  which  a  special  pursuit  will  lead.  A  Gipsy  leader 
stood,  then,  somewhat  in  the  position  towards  a  gentleman 
that  a  swell  does  to-day ;  with  this  difference,  that  he  was 
not  apt  to  commit  himself  by  the  display  of  that  ignorance 
which  unmasks  the  swell ;  an  ignorance  which  the  gentleman, 
in  spite  of  his  little  learning,  no  less  shared  in.  If  the  latter 
happened  to  be  well  educated,  the  Gipsy  could  still  pass 
muster,  from  being  as  well,  or  rather  as  ill,  informed  as  many 
with  whom  the  gentleman  associated.  The  Gipsy  being 
alert,  capable  of  playing  many  characters,  often  a  good  musi¬ 
cian,  an  excellent  player  at  games  of  hazard,  famous  at  tale 
and  repartee,  clever  at  sleight  of  hand  tricks,  ready  with  his 
weapon,  at  least  in  the  boast  of  it,  apt  at  field  and  athletic 
sports,  suspicious  of  everything  and  everybody  around  him, 
the  whole  energies  of  his  mind  given  to,  and  his  life  spent  in, 
circumventing  and  plundering  those  around  him,  while,  in 
appearance,  “  living  in  peaceable  and  catholic  manner,”  and 
“  doing  a  lawful  business,”  and  having  that  thorough  know¬ 
ledge  of  men  acquired  by  mixing  with  all  classes,  in  every 
part  of  the  country — he  became  even  more  than  a  match  for 
the  other,  whose  life  was  spent  in  occasional  forays,  field 
sports  and  revellings,  with  so  little  to  engage  his  intellectual 
nature,  from  his  limited  education,  the  non-existence  of  books, 
and  the  forms  of  government  and  social  institutions,  with 
those  beautifully  complicated  bearings  and  interests  towards 
general  society  which  the  present  age  displays.  At  such  a 
time,  conversation  must  have  been  confined  to  the  ordinary 
affairs  of  common  life,  the  journal  of  much  of  which,  beyond 
one’s  own  immediate  neighbourhood,  would  be  found  in  the 
conversation  of  the  accomplished  Gipsy,  who  had  the  tact  of 
ingratiating  himself,  in  a  manner  peculiar  to  himself,  with  all 
kinds  of  society,  even  sometimes  the  very  best.  And  it  is 
remarkable  that,  when  the  Gipsies  were  persecuted,  it  was 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


43 


seldom,  if  ever,  at  the  instance  of  private  individuals,  but 
almost  always  by  those  acting  under  authority.  If  they 
were  persecuted  by  a  private  individual,  they  would  natur¬ 
ally  leave  for  another  district,  and  place  themselves,  for  a 
time,  in  the  nominal  position  of  a  clansman  to  such  barons  as 
would  be  always  ready  to  receive  them.  The  people  at  large 
generally  courted  their  friendship,  for  the  amusement  which 
they  afforded  them,  and  the  various  services  which  they  ren¬ 
dered  them,  the  most  important  of  which  was  the  safety  of 
property  which  followed  from  such  an  acquaintance.  That 
being  the  case  even  with  people  of  influence,  it  may  be  judged 
what  position  the  Gipsies  occupied  towards  the  various 
classes  downwards  ;  the  lowest  of  which  they  have  always 
despised,  and  delighted  to  tyrannize  over.  In  coming  among 
them,  the  Gipsies,  from  the  first,  exhibited  ways  of  life  and 
habits  so  dissimilar  to  those  of  the  natives,  and  such  tricks 
of  legerdemain  so  peculiar  to  Eastern  nations,  and  such 
claims  of  seeing  into  the  future,  as  to  cause  many  to  believe 
them  in  league  with  the  evil  one  ;  a  conclusion  very  easily 
arrived  at,  in  the  darkness  in  which  all  were  wrapped.  Al¬ 
though  the  rabble  of  the  Gipsies  is  said  to  have  presented, 
in  point  of  accoutrements,  a  most  lamentable  appearance, 
that  could  much  more  have  been  said  of  the  same  class  of 
the  natives,  then,  and  long  after,  if  we  judge  of  a  Highland 
“  tail,”  of  a  little  more  than  a  century  ago,  as  described  by 
the  author  of  Waverly  ;  or  even  of  the  most  unwashed  of 
what  has  been  termed  the  “unwashed  multitude”  of  to-day. 
In  point  of  adaptability  to  their  respective  modes  of  life,  the 
poorest  of  the  Gipsies  far  excelled  the  others.  To  carry  out 
the  character  of  pilgrims,  the  bulk  of  the  Gipsies  would  go 
very  poorly  dressed  ;  it  would  only  be  the  chiefs  who  would 
be  well  accoutred. 

But  the  Gipsies  that  appear  to  the  general  eye  have  fallen 
much  from  what  they  were.  The  superior  class  of  Scottish 
Gipsies,  possessing  the  talents  and  policy  necessary  to  accom¬ 
modate  themselves  to  the  change  of  circumstances  around 
them,  have  adopted  the  modes  of  ordinary  life  to  such  an 
extent,  and  so  far  given  up  their  wandering  habits,  as  to 
baffle  any  chance  of  discovery  by  any  one  unacquainted  with 
their  history,  and  who  will  not,  like  a  bloodhound,  follow 
them  into  the  retreats  in  which  they  and  their  descendants 
are  now  to  be  found.  Such  Gipsies  arc  still  a  restless  race, 


44 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


and  nourish  that  inveterate  attachment  to  their  blood  and 
language  which  is  peculiar  to  all  of  them.  When  we  con¬ 
sider  the  change  that  has  come  over  the  face  of  society  dur¬ 
ing  the  last  hundred  years,  or  even  during  a  much  shorter 
time,  we  will  find  many  causes  that  have  contributed  to  that 
which  has  come  over  the  Gipsy  character  in  its  more  atro¬ 
cious  aspect.  All  classes  of  our  own  people,  from  the  highest 
to  the  lowest,  have  experienced  the  change  ;  and  nowhere 
to  a  greater  extent  than  in  the  Highlands,  where,  in  little 
more  than  a  hundred  years,  a  greater  reformation  has  been 
effected,  than  took  almost  any  other  part  of  the  world  per¬ 
haps  three  centuries  to  accomplish  ;  and  where  the  people, 
as  a  body,  have  emerged,  from  a  state  of  sanguinary  barbar¬ 
ism,  into  the  most  lawful  and  the  most  moral  and  religious 
subjects  of  the  British  Empire.  The  Gipsies  have  likewise 
felt  the  change.  Even  the  wildest  of  them  have  had  the 
more  outrageous  features  of  their  character  subdued  ;  but  it 
is  sometimes  as  an  animal  of  prey,  sans  teeth,  sans  claws,  sans 
everything.  Officials,  in  the  zeal  of  their  callings,  often 
greatly  distress  those  that  go  about— compelling  them,  in 
their  wanderings,  to  “  move  on  and  look  after  them  so 
closely,  that  when  they  become  obnoxious  to  the  inhabitants, 
the  offence  has  hardly  occurred,  ere,  to  use  an  expression, 
they  are  snapped  up  before  they  have  had  time  to  squeak. 
Amid  such  a  state  of  things,  it  is  difficult  for  Gipsies  to 
flourish  in  their  glory  ;  still,  such  of  them  as  go  about  in  the 
olden  form  are  deemed  very  annoying. 

The  dread  which  has  always  been  entertained  toward  the 
Gipsies  has  been  carefully  fostered  by  them,  and  lias  become 
the  principal  means  contributing  to  their  toleration.  They 
have  always  been  combined  in  a  brotherhood  of  sentiment 
and  interest,  even  when  deadly  feuds  existed  among  them  ; 
an  injury  toward  one  being  generally  taken  up  by  others  ; 
and  have  presented  that  union  of  sympathy,  and  lawless 
violence  toward  the  community,  which  show  what  a  few 
audacious  and  desperate  men,  under  such  circumstances,  wTill 
sometimes  do  in  a  well  regulated  society.  Sir  Walter  Scott, 
relative  to  the  original  of  one  of  his  heroines,  says  :  “  She 
was  wont  to  say  that  she  could  bring,  from  the  remotest 
parts  of  the  island  friends,  to  revenge  her  quarrel,  while  she 
sat  motionless  in  her  cottage  ;  and  frequently  boasted  that 
there  was  a  time  when  she  was  of  still  more  considerable 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


45 


importance,  when  there  were  at  her  wedding  fifty  saddled 
asses,  and  unsaddled  asses  without  number.”  But  of  their 
various  crimes,  none  have  had  sucli  terrors  for  the  grown-up 
person  as  those  of  fire-raising  and  child-stealing.  The  Gipsy 
could  easily  steal  into  a  well  guarded  but  scattered  premises, 
by  night,  and,  in  an  instant,  spread  devastation  around  him, 
and  irretrievable  ruin  to  the  rural  inhabitant.  But  that 
which  has,  perhaps,  contributed  most  to  the  feeling  in  ques¬ 
tion,  has  been  their  habit  of  child-stealing,  the  terrors  of 
which  have  grown  up  with  the  people  from  infancy.  This 
trait  in  the  Gipsy  character  has  certainly  not  been  so  com¬ 
mon,  in  latter  times,  as  some  others  ;  still,  it  has  taken  place. 
As  an  instance,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  Adam  Smith,  the 
author  of  the  great  work  called  “An  Enquiry  into  the 
Causes  of  the  Wealth  of  Nations,”  was  actually  carried  olf 
by  the  Gipsies,  when  a  child,  and  was  some  hours  in  their 
possession  before  recovery.  It  is  curious  to  think  what 
might  have  been  the  political  state  of  so  many  nations,  and 
of  Great  Britain  in  particular,  at  the  present  time,  if  the 
father  of  political  economy  and  free-trade,  as  he  is  generally 
called,  had  had  to  pass  his  life  in  a  Gipsy  encampment,  and, 
Jike  a  white  transferred  to  an  Indian  wigwam,  under  similar 
circumstances,  acquired  all  their  habits,  and  become  more 
incorrigibly  attached  to  them  than  the  people  themselves  ; 
tinkering  kettles,  pots,  pans  and  old  metal,  in  place  of  sepa¬ 
rating  the  ore  of  a  beautiful  science  from  the  debris  which 
had  been  for  generations  accumulating  around  it,  and  work¬ 
ing  it  up  into  one  of  the  noblest  monuments  of  modern  times. 

When  a  child  will  become  unruly,  the  father  will  often 
say,  in  the  most  serious  manner,  “  Mother,  that  canna  be 
our  bairn — the  Tinklers  must  have  taken  ours,  and  left 
theirs — are  you  sure  that  this  is  ours?  Gie  him  back  to 
the  Gipsies  again,  and  get  our  ain.”  The  other  children 
will  look  as  bewildered,  while  the  subject  of  remark  will 
instantly  stop  crying,  and  look  around  for  sympathy ;  but 
meeting  nothing  but  suspicion  in  the  faces  of  all,  will 
instinctively  flee  to  its  mother,  who  as  instinctively  clasps  it 
to  her  bosom,  quieting  its  terrors,  as  a  mother  only  can, 
with  the  lullaby, 

“  Hush  nac,  hush  nae,  dinna  fret  ye  ; 

The  black  Tinkler  winna  get  ye.”* 

*  The  Gipsies  frighten  their  children  in  the  same  manner,  by  saying 
that  they  will  give  them  to  the  Gurqio. 


46 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


And  the  result  is,  that  it  will  remain  a  “good  bairn”  for  a 
long  time  after.  This  feeling,  drawn  into  the  juvenile  mind, 
as  food  enters  into  the  growth  of  the  body,  acts  like  the 
influence  of  the  stories  of  ghosts  and  hobgoblins,  often  so 
inconsiderately  told  to  children,  but  differs  from  it  in  this 
respect,  that  what  causes  it  is  true,  while  its  effects  are 
always  more  or  less  permanent.  It  lias  had  this  effect  upon 
our  youth — in  connection  with  the  other  habits  of  the  people, 
so  outlandish  when  compared  with  the  ways  of  our  own — that 
should  they  happen  to  go  a  little  distance  from  home,  on  such 
expeditions  as  boys  are  given  to,  and  fall  in  with  a  Gipsy 
camp,  a  strange  sensation  of  fear  takes  possession  of  them. 
The  camp  is  generally  found  to  be  pitched  in  some  little  dell 
or  nook,  and  so  hidden  from  view  as  not  to  be  noticed  till 
the  stranger  is  almost  precipitated  into  its  midst  ere  he  is 
aware  of  it.  What  with  the  traditionary  feeling  toward 
the  Gipsies,  and  the  motley  assemblage  of  wild  looking 
men,  and  perhaps  still  wilder  looking  women,  ragged  little 
urchins,  ferocious  looking  dogs,  prepared  for  an  assault  with 
an  instinct  drawn  from  the  character  of  their  masters,  and 
the  droll  appearance  of  so  many  cuddies  (asses,)  startled  in 
their  browsing — animals  that  generally  appear  singly,  but, 
when  driven  by  Gipsies,  come  in  battalions  ; — the  boys,  at 
first  rivetted  to  the  spot  with  terror,  will  slip  away  as 
quietly  as  possible  till  a  little  way  off,  and  then  run  till 
they  have  either  arrived  at  home,  or  come  within  the  reach 
of  a  neighbourhood  or  people  likely  to  protect  them, 
although,  it  might  be,  the  Gipsies  had  not  even  noticed 
them.*  Curiosity  is  so  strong  in  our  youth,  in  such  cases, 
as  often  to  induce  them  to  return  to  the  spot,  after  being 
satisfied  that  the  Gipsies  have  decamped  for  another  district. 
They  will  then  examine  the  debris  of  the  encampment  with 
a  great  degree  of  minuteness,  wreaking  their  vengeance  on 
what  is  left,  by  turning  up  with  their  feet  the  refuse  of 
almost  everything  edible,  particularly  as  regards  the  bones 
and  feathers  of  fowl  and  game,  and,  if  it  happened  to  be 
near  the  sea,  crab,  limpet,  and  whelk  shells,  and  heaps  of 
tin  clippings  and  horn  scrapings.  In  after  life,  they  will 
often  think  of  and  visit  the  scenes  of  such  adventures.  At 
other  times,  our  youth,  when  rambling,  will  often  make  a 

*  As  children,  have  we  not,  at  some  time,  run  affrighted  from  a  Gipsy  ? 
—  Grellmann  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


47 


detour  of  several  miles,  to  avoid  falling  in  with  the  dreaded 
Gipsies.  The  report  of  Gipsies  being  about  acts  as  a  salu¬ 
tary  check  upon  the  depredatory  habits  of  the  youth  of  our 
country  towns  on  neighbouring  crops  ;  for,  as  the  farmers 
make  up  their  minds  to  lose  something  by  the  Gipsies,  at  any 
rate,  the  wholesome  dread  they  inspire,  even  in  grown-up 
lads,  is  such  as,  by  night  especially,  to  scare  away  the  thieves 
from  those  villages,  whose  plunderings  are  much  greater, 
and  more  unwillingly  submitted  to,  from  the  closeness  of 
residence  of  the  offenders  ;  so  that  the  arrival  of  the  Gipsies, 
in  some  places,  is  welcomed,  at  certain  times  of  the  year, 
as  the  lesser  of  two  evils  ;  and,  to  that  extent,  they  have 
been  termed  the  “farmers’  friends.”  And  if  a  little  en¬ 
couragement  is  given  them — such  as  the  matter  of  “  dogs’ 
payment,”  that  is,  what  they  can  eat  and  drink,  and  a  mouth¬ 
ful  of  something  for  the  cuddy ,  for  the  first  day  after  their 
arrival — the  farmer  can  always  enlist  an  admirable  police, 
who  will  guard  his  property  against  others,  with  a  degree 
of  faithfulness  that  can  hardly  be  surpassed.  I  heard  of  a 
Scottish  farmer,  very  lately,  getting  the  Gipsies  to  take  up 
their  quarters  every  year  on  the  corner  of  a  potato  or  turnip 
field,  with  the  express  purpose  of  using  them,  as  half  con¬ 
stables  half  scare-crows,  against  the  common  rogues  of  the 
neighbourhood.  “  Now,”  said  he  to  the  principal  Gipsy,  “  I 
put  you  in  charge  of  this  property.  If  you  want  anything 
for  yourselves,  come  to  the  barn.”  Whatever  might  have 
been  the  experience  of  farmers  near  by,  this  farmer  never 
missed  anything  while  the  Gipsies  were  on  his  premises. 

But  a  greater  degree  of  awe  is  inspired  by  the  females 
than  the  males  of  the  Gipsies.  In  their  periodical  wander¬ 
ings,  they  will  generally,  with  their  fortune-telling,  turn  the 
heads  of  the  country  girls  in  matters  of  matrimony — setting 
them  all  agog  on  husbands  ;  and  render  them,  for  the  time, 
of  but  little  use  to  their  employers.  In  teaching  them  the 
“  art  of  love,”  they  will  professedly  so  instruct  them  as  to 
have  as  many  lovers  at  once  as  their  hearts  can  desire.  But 
if  a  country  girl,  with  her  many  admirers,  has  one  to  get 
quit  of,  who  is  “  no’  very  weel  faured,  but  a  clever  fellow,” 
or  another,  who  is  “  no’  very  bright  in  the  upper  story,  but 
strapping  enough  to  become  the  dish-clout,”  she  will  call  in 
the  assistance  of  the  strolling  Gipsy  ;  who,  after  carefully 
weighing  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  will  sometimes,  after 


48 


EDITORS  INTRODUCTION. 


ordinary  means  have  failed,  collect,  unknown  to  her,  a 
bucket  full  of  everything  odious  about  a  dwelling,  wait  at 
the  back  door  the  return  of  the  rustic  Adonis,  and,  ere  he  is 
aware,  dash  it  full  in  his  face  ;  then  fold  her  arms  akimbo, 
and  quietly  remark,  “  That  will  cool  your  ears,  and  youi 
courting  too,  my  man  !”  Such  Gipsy  women  are  peculiarly 
dreaded  by  the  males  of  our  own  people,  who  will  much 
sooner  encounter  those  of  the  other  sex  ;  for,  however  much 
some  of  them  may  be  satisfied,  in  their  cooler  moments,  that 
these  Gipsy  women  will  not  attempt  what  they  will  some¬ 
times  threaten,  they  generally  deem  them  “  unco  uncanny,” 
at  any  time,  and  will  flee  when  swearing  that  they  will  gut 
or  shin  alive  all  who  may  have  anything  to  say  to  them. 

To  people  unacquainted  with  the  peculiarities  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  it  may  appear  that  this  picture  is  overdrawn.  But  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  who  is  universally  allowed  to  be  a  true  de- 
picter  of  Scottish  life,  in  every  form,  says,  in  reference  to  the 
original  of  Meg  Merrilies,  in  Guy  Mannering  :  “  I  remember 
to  have  seen  one  of  her  grand-daughters  ;  that  is,  as  Dr. 
Johnson  had  a  shadowy  recollection  of  Queen  Anne — a  stately 
lady  in  black,  adorned  with  diamonds  ;  so  my  memory  is 
haunted  by  a  solemn  remembrance  of  a  woman,  of  more  than 
female  height,  dressed  in  a  long,  red  cloak,  who  commenced 
acquaintance  by  giving  me  an  apple,  but  whom,  nevertheless, 
I  looked  on  with  as  much  awe  as  the  future  Doctor  could 
look  upon  the  Queen.”  And  he  approvingly  quotes  another 
writer,  as  to  her  daughter,  as  follows  :  “  Every  week,  she  paid 
my  father  a  visit  for  her  awmons ,  when  I  was  a  little  boy, 
and  I  looked  on  her  with  no  common  degree  of  awe  and 
terror.”  The  same  feeling,  somewhat  modified,  I  have  heard 
expressed  by  Germans,  Spaniards,  and  Dalians.  In  Eng¬ 
land,  the  people  do  not  like  to  trouble  the  Gipsies,  owing  to 
their  being  so  “  spiteful,”  as  they  express  it.  The  feeling  in 
question  cannot  well  be  realized  by  people  reared  in  towns, 
wiio  have,  perhaps,  never  seen  Gipsies,  or  heard  much  about 
them  ;  but  it  is  different  with  youths  brought  up  in  the  coun¬ 
try.  When  the  Gipsies,  in  their  peregrinations,  will  make 
their  appearance  at  a  farmer’s  house,  especially  if  it  is  in  the 
pastoral  districts,  and  the  farmer  be  a  man  of  information 
and  reflection,  he  will  often  treat  them  kindly,  from  the  in¬ 
terest  with  which  their  singular  history  inspires  him ;  and 
others,  not  unkindly,  from  other  motives.  The  farmer’s  sons, 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


49 


who  are  young  and  hasty,  probably  but  recently  returned 
from  a  town,  where  they  have  been  jeered  at  for  their  cow¬ 
ardice  in  being  afraid  to  meddle  with  the  Gipsies,  will  show 
a  disposition  to  use  them  roughly,  on  the  cry  arising  in  the 
house,  that  “  the  Tinklers  are  coming.”  But  the  old  father, 
cautious  with  the  teachings  of  years  gone  by,  will  become 
alarmed  at  such  symptoms,  and,  before  the  Gipsies  have 
approached  the  premises,  will  urge  his  children  to  treat  them 
kindly.  “  Be  canny  now,  bairns — be  canny  ;  for  any  sake 
dinna  anger  them  ;  gie  them  a’  they  want,  and  something 
more.”  With  this,  a  good  fat  sheep  will  sometimes  be  killed, 
and  the  band  regaled  with  kail,  and  its  accompaniments  ;  or, 
if  the)r  are  very  nice  gabbit ,  it  will  be  served  up  to  them  in  a 
roasted  form.  Thereafter,  they  will  retire  to  the  barn,  and 
start  in  the  morning  on  something  better  than  an  empty 
stomach. 

And  yet  it  is  singular  that,  if  the  Gipsies  are  met  in  the 
streets  of  a  town,  or  any  considerably  frequented  place,  peo¬ 
ple  will,  in  passing  them,  edge  off  a  little  to  the  side,  and 
look  at  them  with  a  degree  of  interest,  which,  on  ordinary 
occasions,  the  Gipsies  will  but  little  notice.  But  if  a  person 
of  respectable  appearance  will  scrutinize  them  in  an  ominous 
way,  they  will  observe  it  instantly  ;  and,  as  a  swell-mobsman, 
on  being  stared  at  by  a  detective,  on  the  mere  suspicion  of 
his  being  such,  generally  turns  the  first  cross  street,  and,  in 
turning,  anxiously  looks  after  his  enemy,  who,  after  calcu¬ 
lating  the  distance,  has  also  turned  to  watch  his  movements, 
so  the  Gipsy  will  become  excited,  soon  turning  round  to 
watch  the  movements  of  the  object  of  his  dread  ;  a  fear  that 
will  be  heightened  if  any  of  his  band  has  been  spoken  to. 
And  such  is  the  masonic  secrecy  with  which  they  keep  their 
language,  that  should  they  at  the  time  have  rested  on  the 
road-side,  and  the  stranger  assume  the  most  impressive  tone, 
and  say  :  “  Sattah ,  jaiv  drom” — (curse  you,  take  the  road), 
the  effects  upon  them  are  at  first  bewildering,  and  followed 
by  a  feeling  of  some  dire  calamity  that  is  about  to  befall 
them.  When  any  of  the  poorest  kind  can  be  prevailed  upon 
to  express  a  candid  sentiment,  and  be  asked  how  they  really 
do  get  on,  they  will  reply,  “  It’s  only  day  and  way  wre  want, 
ye  ken — what  a  farmer  body  ne’er  can  miss  ;  foreby  selling  a 
spoon,  and  tinkering  a  kettle  now  and  then.” 

In  viewing  the  effects  of  civilization  upon  a  barbarous 
3 


50 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION, 


race,  we  are  naturally  led  to  confine  our  reflections  to  some 
of  the  instances  in  which  the  civilized  race  has  carried  its 
influence  abroad  to  those  beyond  its  pale,  to  the  exclusion 
of  those  instances,  from  their  infrequency  of  occurrence,  in 
which  the  barbarous  race,  of  its  own  accord  or  otherwise, 
has  come  within  its  circle.  There  are  but  two  instances,  in 
modern  times,  in  which  the  latter  has  happened,  and  they  arc 
well  worthy  of  our  notice.  The  one  is,  the  existence  of  the 
Gipsies,  in  the  very  heart  of  civilization  ;  the  other,  that  of 
the  Africans  in  the  various  European  settlements  in  the 
New  World  ;  and  between  these  a  short  comparison  may 
be  instituted,  although  at  the  risk  of  it  being  deemed  a 
digression. 

The  forcible  introduction  of  barbarous  men  into  the  colon¬ 
ies  of  civilized  nations,  in  spite  of  the  cruelties  which  many 
of  them  have  undergone,  has  greatly  improved  their  condi¬ 
tion — their  moral  and  intellectual  nature — at  the  expense 
of  the  melancholy  fact  of  it  being  advanced  as  a  reason  of 
justification  for  that  sad  anomaly  in  the  history  of  our  times. 
The  African,  it  is  admitted,  was  forcibly  brought  under 
the  influence  of  the  refinement,  religion,  and  morals  of 
the  Avhites,  whether  as  a  domestic  under  the  same  roof, 
a  field  labourer,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  master,  or 
in  some  other  way  under  his  direct  control  and  example. 
Not  only  was  he,  as  it  were,  forced  to  become  what  he  is, 
but  his  obedient,  lightdiearted,  and  imitative  nature,  even 
under  many  bodily  sufferings,  instinctively  led  him  to  enter 
immediately  into  the  spirit  of  a  new  life,  presenting  to  his 
barbarous  imagination,  so  destitute  of  everything  above  the 
grossest  of  animal  wants  and  propensities,  those  wonderfully 
incessant  and  complicated  employments  ot  a  being,  appearing 
to  him  as  almost  a  god,  when  compared  with  his  own  savage 
and  unsophisticated  nature.  The  importations  comprised 
Negroes  of  many  dialects,  which  were  distributed  on  arrival 
in  every  direction.  A  large  proportion  would  live  singly 
with  the  poorer  classes  of  the  colonists,  as  domestics  ;  two 
or  three  would  be  the  limited  number  with  many  others,  and 
the  remainder  would  be  disposed  of,  in  larger  or  smaller 
numbers,  for  the  various  services  necessary  in  civilized  life. 
Single  domestics  would  be  under  the  necessity  of  learning  the 
language  of  the  master ;  and,  having  none  speaking  their 
own  dialect  to  commune  with,  or  only  occasionally  meeting 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


51 


such,  momentarily,  they  would  soon  forget  it.  When  sev¬ 
eral  of  different  dialects  lived  together,  they  would  natur¬ 
ally  follow  the  same  course,  to  communicate  with  each  other. 
All  these  circumstances,  with  the  frequent  changes  of  masters 
and  companions,  and  the  general  influence  which  the  whites 
exercised  so  supremely  over  them,  have  had  the  effect  of  al¬ 
most  erasing  every  trace  of  (he  language,  customs,  and  super¬ 
stitions  of  Africa,  in  parts  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
in  little  more  than  one  generation.  The  same  may  especially 
be  said  of  what  pertains  to  the  religious  ;  for  a  race  of  men, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  or  but  slightly  civilized,  depending  for 
such  instruction  on  the  adjunct  of  a  superior  grade,  in  the 
person  of  a  priest,  would,  on  being  deprived  of  such,  soon 
lose  recollection  of  what  had  been  taught  them.  Such  an 
instance  as  to  language,  and,  I  understand,  to  a  great  extent 
as  to  religion,  is  to  be  found  in  St.  Domingo  ;  French  and 
Spanish  being  spoken  in  the  parts  of  that  island  which  be¬ 
longed  to  these  countries  respectively.  Still,  such  traces  are 
to  be  found  in  Cuba  ;  but,  were  importations  of  Africans  into 
that  island  to  cease,  the  same  result  would,  in  course  of  time, 
follow.  From  such  causes  as  those  stated,  the  Negroes  in 
the  United  States  have,  to  a  very  great  extent,  nay,  as  far 
as  their  advantages  and  opportunities  have  gone,  altogether, 
acquired  the  ways  of  civilized  life,  and  adopted  the  morals 
and  religion  of  the  white  race  ;  and  their  history  compares 
favourably  with  that  of  a  portion  of  the  Gipsy  race,  which, 
being  unique,  and  apparently  incomprehensible,  1  will  insti¬ 
tute  a  short  enquiry  into  some  of  the  causes  of  it. 

While  the  language  and  common  origin  of  the  Gipsies  hold 
them  together  as  a  body,  their  mode  of  life  has  taken  such  a 
hold  on  the  innate  nature  of  the  representative  part  of  them, 
as  to  render  it  difficult  to  wean  them  from  it.  Like  the 
North  American  Indians,  they  have  been  incapable  of  being 
reduced  to  a  state  of  servitude  ;*  and,  in  their  own  peculiar 
way,  have  been  as  much  attached  to  a  life  of  unrestricted 
freedom  of  movement.  Being  an  Oriental  people,  they  have 
displayed  the  uniformity  of  attachment  to  habit,  that  has 
characterized  the  people  of  that  part  of  the  world.  Like 
the  maidens  of  Syria,  wearing  to-day  the  identical  kind  of 
veil  with  which  Rebecca  covered  herself  when  she  met 

*  There  is  an  exception,  however,  to  this  rule  in  the  Danubian  Princi¬ 
palities,  to  which  I  will  again  refer. 


62 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


Isaac,  they  have,  with  few  exceptions,  adhered  to  all  that 
originally  distinguished  them  from  those  among  whom  they 
are  found.  In  entering  Europe,  they  would  meet  with  few 
customs  which  they  would  willingly  adopt  in  preference  to 
their  owrn.  Their  chiefs,  being  men  of  ambition,  and  fond 
of  a  distinguished  position  in  the  tribe,  would  influence  the 
body  to  remain  aloof  from  the  people  at  large  ;  and  society 
being  divided  between  the  nobles  and  their  various  grades 
of  dependents,  and  the  restrained  inhabitants  of  towns,  with 
what  part  of  the  population  could  the  Gipsies  have  been  in¬ 
corporated  ?  With  the  lowest  classes  only,  and  become 
little  better  than  serfs — a  state  to  which  it  was  almost  im¬ 
possible  for  a  Gipsy  to  submit.  His  habits  rendered  him 
unfit  to  till  the  soil  ;  the  close  and  arbitrary  laws  of  muni¬ 
cipalities  would  debar  him  from  exercising  almost  any  me¬ 
chanical  trade,  in  a  way  suitable  to  his  disposition  ;  and,  no 
matter  what  might  have  been  his  natural  propensities,  he 
had  almost  no  alternative  left  him  but  to  wander,  peddle, 
tinker,  tell  fortunes,  and  “  find  things  that  nobody  ever  lost.” 
His  natural  disposition  was  to  rove,  and  partake  of  whatever 
he  took  a  liking  to  ;  nothing  coming  so  acceptably  and  so 
sweetly  to  him,  as  when  it  required  an  exercise  of  ingenuity, 
and  sometimes  a  degree  of  danger,  in  its  acquisition,  and 
caused  a  corresponding  chagrin  to  him  from  whom  it  was 
taken,  without  affording  him  any  trace  of  the  purloiner. 
He  must  also  enjoy  the  sports  of  the  river  and  lake,  the 
field,  hill  and  forest,  and  the  pleasure  of  his  meal,  cooked 
after  his  own  fashion,  in  some  quiet  spot,  where  he  would 
pitch  his  tent,  and  quench  his  thirst  at  his  favourite 
springs.  Then  followed  the  persecution  of  his  race  ;  both 
by  law  and  society  it  was  declared  outcast,  although,  by  a 
large  part  of  the  latter,  it  was,  from  selfish  motives,  tolerated, 
and,  in  a  measure,  courted.  The  Gipsy's  mode  of  life  ;  his 
predatory  habits  ;  his  vindictive  disposition  toward  his  ene¬ 
mies  ;  his  presumptuous  bearing  toward  the  lower  classes,  who 
had  purchased  his  friendship  and  protection  ;  his  astuteness 
in  doubling  upon  and  escaping  his  pursuers  ;  his  audacity, 
under  various  disguises  and  pretences,  in  bearding  justice, 
and  the  triumphant  manner  in  which  he  would  generally 
escape  its  toils  ;  his  utter  destitution  of  religious  opinions, 
or  sentiments  ;  his  being  a  foreigner  of  such  strongly  marked 
appearance,  under  the  legal  and  social  ban  of  proscription  ; 


EDITORS  INTRODUCTION. 


53 


and  the  hereditary  name  which  has,  in  consequence,  attached 
to  his  race,  have  created  those  broad  and  deep-drawn  lines  of 
isolation,  fear  and  antipathy,  which,  in  the  popular  mind, 
have  separated  him  from  other  men.  To  escape  from  the 
dreadful  prejudice  that  is,  in  consequence,  entertained  toward 
his  race,  the  Gipsy  will,  if  it  be  possible,  hide  the  fact  of  his 
being  a  Gipsy  ;  and  more  especially  when  he  enters  upon 
settled  life,  and  mixes  with  his  fellow-men  in  the  world. 

In  the  general  history  of  Europe,  we  can  find  nothing  to 
illustrate  that  of  the  Gipsies.  But  if  we  take  a  glance  at 
the  history  of  the  New  World,  we  will  find,  in  a  mild  and 
harmless  form,  something  that  bears  a  slight  resemblance  to 
it.  In  various  parts  of  the  eastern  division  of  North 
America  are  to  be  found  remnants  of  tribes  of  Indians, 
living  in  the  hearts  of  the  settlements,  on  reserves  of  lands 
granted  to  them  for  their  support ;  a  race  bearing  somewhat 
the  same  resemblance  to  the  European  settlers  that  the 
Gipsies,  with  their  dark  complexion,  and  long,  coarse,  black 
hair,  seem  to  have  borne  to  the  natives  of  Europe.  Few  of 
these  Indians,  although  in  a  manner  civilized,  and  professing 
the  Christian  religion,  and  possessing  houses,  schools  and 
churches,  have  betaken,  or,  if  they  support  their  numbers, 
will  ever  betake,  themselves  to  the  ways  of  the  other  in¬ 
habitants.  They  will  engage  in  many  things  to  make  a 
living,  and  a  bare  living;  in  that  respect  very  much  resem¬ 
bling  some  of  the  Gipsies.  They  will  often  leave  their 
home,  and  build  their  wigwams  whenever  and  wherever 
they  have  a  mind,  and  indulge  in  the  pleasures  of  hunting 
and  laziness  ;  and  often  make  numerous  small  wares  for 
sale,  with  the  proceeds  of  which,  and  of  the  timber  growing 
on  their  lots  of  land,  the}'  will  manage  to  pass  their  lives  in 
little  better  than  sloth,  often  accompanied  by  drunkenness. 
If  it  prove  otherwise,  it  is  generally  from  the  Indian,  or 
rather  half  or  quarter  breed,  having  been  wholly  or  partly 
reared  with  whites,  or  otherwise  brought  up  under  their 
immediate  influence  ;  or  from  the  ambition  of  their  chiefs  to 
raise  themselves  in  the  estimation  of  the  white  race,  leading, 
from  the  influence  which  they  possess,  to  some  of  the  lower 
grades  of  the  tribes  following  their  example.  It  may  be 
that  the  “  poor  Indian”  has  voluntarily  exiled  himself,  in  a 
fit  of  melancholy,  from  the  wreck  of  his  patrimony,  to  make 
a  miserable  shift  for  himself  elsewhere,  as  he  best  may.  In 


54 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION. 


this  respect  the  resemblance  fails  :  that  the  Indian  in  America 
is  aboriginal,  the  Gipsy  in  Europe  foreign,  to  the  soil ;  but  both 
are  characterized  by  a  nature  that  renders  them  almost 
impervious  to  voluntary  change.  In  this  they  resemble 
each  other :  that  they  are  left  to  live  by  themselves,  and 
transmit  to  their  descendants  their  respective  languages, 
and  such  of  their  habits  as  the  change  in  their  outward  cir¬ 
cumstances  will  permit.  But  in  this  they  differ  :  that  these 
Indians  really  do  die  out,  while  the  Gipsies  are  very  prolific, 
and  become  invigorated  by  a  mixture  of  the  white  blood  ; 
under  the  cover  of  which  they  gradually  leave  the  tent,  and 
become  scattered  over  and  through  society,  enter  into  the 
various  pursuits  common  to  the  ordinary  natives,  and  be¬ 
come  lost  to  the  observation  of  the  rest  of  the  population. 

The  peculiar  feeling  that  is  entertained  for  what  is  popu¬ 
larly  understood  to  be  a  Gipsy,  differs  from  that  which  is 
displayed  toward  the  Negro,  in  that  it  attaches  to  his  tradi¬ 
tional  character  and  mode  of  life  alone.  The  general  pre¬ 
judice  against  the  Negro  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  natural, 
and  what  any  one  can  realize.  If  the  European  has  a 
difficulty  in  appreciating  the  feeling  which  is  exhibited  by 
Americans  against  the  African,  in  their  general  intercourse 
of  daily  life,  few  Americans  can  realize  the  feeling  which  is 
entertained  toward  the  tented  Gipsy.  Should  such  a  Gipsy 
be  permitted  to  enter  the  dwelling  of  a  native,  the  most  he 
will  let  him  come  in  contact  with  will  be  the  chair  he  will 
give  him  to  sit  on,  and  the  dish  and  spoon  out  of  which  he 
will  feed  him,  all  of  which  can  again  be  cleaned.  His 
guest  will  never  weary  his  patience,  owing  to  the  embodi¬ 
ment  of  restlessness  which  characterizes  his  race  ;  nor  will 
his  feelings  ever  be  tried  by  his  asking  him  for  a  bed,  for 
what  the  herb  commonly  called  catnip  is  to  the  animal  some¬ 
what  corresponding  to  that  word,  a  bundle  of  straw  in  an 
out-house  is  to  the  tented  Gipsy. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  new  era  which  the  series  of  splendid  works,  called 
the  Waverly  Novels,  created  in  literature,  produced,  among 
other  effects,  that  of  directing  attention  to  that  singular 
anomaly  in  civilization — the  existence  of  a  race  of  men 
scattered  over  the  world,  and  known,  wherever  the  English 
language  is  spoken,  as  Gipsies  ;  a  class  as  distinct,  in  some 
respects,  from  the  people  among  whom  they  live,  as  the  Jews 
at  the  present  day.  The  first  of  the  series  in  which  their 
singular  characters,  habits,  and  modes  of  life  were  illustrated, 
was  that  of  Guy  Mannering  ;  proving  one  of  the  few  happy 
instances  in  which  a  work  of  fiction  has  been  found  to  serve 
the  end  of  specially  stirring  up  the  feelings  of  the  human 
mind,  in  its  various  phases,  toward  a  subject  with  which  it 
has  a  common  sympathy.  The  peasant  and  the  farmer  at 
once  felt  attracted  by  it,  from  the  dread  of  personal  danger 
which  they  had  always  entertained  for  the  race,  and  the  un¬ 
certainty  under  which  they  had  lived,  for  the  safety  of  their 
property  from  fire  and  robbery,  and  the  desire  which  they 
had  invariably  shown  to  propitiate  them  by  the  payment  of 
a  species  of  blackmail,  under  the  form  of  kind  treatment, 
and  a  manner  of  hospitality  when  occasion  called  for  it. 
The  work  at  the  same  time  struck  a  chord  in  the  religious 
and  humane  sentiments  of  others,  and  the  result,  but  a  very 
tardily  manifested  one,  was  the  springing  up  of  associations 
for  their  reformation  ;  with  comparatively  little  success, 
however,  for  it  was  found,  as  a  general  thing,  that  while 
some  of  the  race  allowed  their  children,  very  indifferently, 
even  precariously,  to  attend  school,  yet  to  cure  them  of  their 
naturally  wandering  and  other  peculiar  dispositions,  was 
nearly  as  hopeless  as  the  converting  of  the  American 
Indians  to  some  of  the  ways  of  civilized  life.  That  general 
class  was  also  interested,  which  consist  of  the  more  or  less 

(55) 


56 


INTRODUCTION. 


educated,  moral,  or  refined,  to  whom  anything  exciting 
comes  with  relish.  To  the  historical  student,  the  subject 
was  fraught  with  matter  for  curious  investigation,  owing  to 
the  race  having  been  ignored,  for  a  length  of  time,  as  being 
in  no  respect  different  from  a  class  to  be  found  in  all  coun¬ 
tries  ;  and,  whatever  their  origin,  as  having  had  their 
nationality  extinguished  in  that  general  process  which  has 
been  found  to  level  every  distinction  of  race  in  our  country. 
The  antiquary  and  philologist,  in  their  respective  pursuits, 
found  also  a  sphere  which  they  were  unlikely  to  leave  unex¬ 
plored,  considering  that  they  are  often  so  untiring  in  their 
researches  in  such  matters  as  sometimes  to  draw  upon  them¬ 
selves  a  smile  from  the  rest  of  mankind  :  and  while  the 
latter  was  thinking  that  he  had  exhausted  the  languages  of 
his  native  land,  and  was  contemplating  others  elsewhere,  he 
struck  accidentally  upon  a  mine  under  his  feet,  and  at  once 
turned  up  a  specimen  of  virgin  ore ;  coming  all  the  more 
acceptably  to  him,  from  those  in  possession  of  it  keeping  it 
as  secret  as  if  their  existence  depended  on  its  being  con¬ 
cealed  from  others  around  them.  All,  indeed,  but  especially 
those  brought  up  in  rural  places,  knew  from  childhood  more 
or  less  of  the  Gipsies,  and  dreaded  them  by  day  or  night, 
in  frequented  or  in  lonely  places,  knowing  well  that,  if 
insulted,  they  would  threaten  vengeance,  if  they  could  not 
execute  it  then  ;  which  they  in  no  way  doubted,  with  the 
terror  of  doomed  men. 

Among  others,  I  felt  interested  in  the  subject,  from  having 
been  brought  up  in  the  pastoral  district  of  Tweed-dale,  the 
resort  of  many  Gipsies,  who  were  treated  with  great  favour 
by  the  inhabitants,  for  many  reasons,  the  most  important 
of  which  were  the  desire  of  securing  their  good-will,  for 
their  own  benefit,  and  the  use  which  they  were  to  them  in 
selling  them  articles  in  request,  and  the  various  mechanical 
turns  which  they  possessed ;  and  often  from  the  natural 
generosity  of  people  so  circumstanced.  My  curiosity  was 
excited,  and  having  various  sources  of  information  at  com¬ 
mand,  I  proceeded  to  write  a  few  short  articles  for  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine,  which  were  well  received,  as  the  follow¬ 
ing  letters  from  Mr.  William  Blackwood  will  show  : 

“  I  now  send  a  proof  of  No.  2  Gipsy  article.  I  hope  you 
are  pleased,  and  will  return  it  with  your  corrections  on 
Monday  or  Tuesday.  We  shall  be  glad  to  hear  you  are 


INTRODUCTION. 


57 


going  on  with  the  continuation,  for  I  assure  you  your  former 
article  has  been  as  popular  as  anything  almost  we  ever  had 
in  the  magazine.’' 

Again, 

“  Your  magazine  was  sent  this  morning  by  the  coach,  but 
I  had  not  time  to  write  you  last  night.  Mr.  Walter  Scott 
is  quite  delighted  with  the  Gipsies.” 

Again, 

“  I  am  this  moment  favoured  with  your  interesting  packet. 
Your  Gipsies,  from  the  slight  glance  I  have  given  them, 
seem  to  be  as  amusing  as  ever.” 

And  again, 

“  It  was  not  in  my  power  to  get  your  number  sent  off.  It 
is  a  very  interesting  one.  You  will  be  much  pleased  with 
Mr.  Scott’s  little  article  on  Buckhaven,  in  which  he  pays 
you  some  very  just  compliments.”* 

At  the  same  time  I  was  much  encouraged,  by  the  author 
of  Guy  Mannering,  to  prosecute  my  enquiries,  by  receiving 
several  communications  from  him,  and  conversing  with  him 
at  Abbotsford,  on  the  subject. 

*  The  following  is  the  article  alluded  to:  “The  following  enquiries  are 
addressed  to  the  author  of  the  Gipsies  in  Fife,  being  suggested  by  the  re¬ 
search  and  industry  which  he  has  displayed  in  collecting  memorials  of  that 
vagrant  race.  They  relate  to  a  class  of  persons  who,  distinguished  for 
honest  industry  in  a  laborious  and  dangerous  calling,  have  only  this  in 
common  with  the  Egyptian  tribes,  that  they  are  not  originally  native  of  the 
country  which  they  inhabit,  and  are  supposed  still  to  exhibit  traces  of  a 

foreign  origin . I  mean  the  colony  of  fishermen  in  the  village  of 

Buckhaven,  in  Fife . 

“  I  make  no  apology  to  your  respectable  correspondent  for  engaging  him 
in  so  troublesome  a  research.  The  local  antiquary,  of  all  others,  ought,  in 
the  zeal  of  his  calling,  to  feel  the  force  of  what  Spencer  wrote  and  Burke 
quoted :  ‘  Love  esteems  no  office  mean.’ — 1  Entire  affection  scorneth  nicer 
hands.’  The  curious  collector  who  seeks  for  ancient  reliques  among  the 
ruins  of  ancient  Borne,  often  pays  for  permission  to  trench  or  dig  over 
some  particular  piece  of  ground,  in  hopes  to  discover  some  remnant  of 
antiquity.  Sometimes  he  gets  only  his  labour,  and  the  ridicule  of  hav¬ 
ing  wasted  it,  to  pay  for  his  pains;  sometimes  he  finds  but  old  bricks 
and  shattered  pot-sherds  ;  but  sometimes  also  his  toil  is  rewarded  by  a 
valuable  medal,  cameo,  bronze,  or  statue.  And  upon  the  same  principle  it 
is,  by  investigating  and  comparing  popular  customs,  often  trivial  and  fool¬ 
ish  in  themselves,  that  we  often  arrive  at  the  means  of  establishing  curious 
and  material  facts  in  history.” 

This  extract  is  given  for  the  benefit  of  the  latter  part  of  it,  w'hich  applies 
admirably  to  the  present  subject;  yet  falls  as  much  short  of  it  as  the 
interest  in  the  history  of  an  Egyptian  mummy  falls  short  of  that  of  a  living 
and  universally  scattered  race,  that  appears  a  riddle  to  our  comprehension. 

3* 


58 


INTRODUCTION. 


I  received  a  letter  from  Sir  Walter,  in  which  he  says  : 

“This  letter  has  been  by  me  many  weeks,  waiting  for  a 
frank,  and  besides,  our  mutual  friend,  Mr.  Laidlaw.  under 
whose  charge  my  agricultural  operations  are  now  proceeding 
in  great  style,  gave  me  some  hope  of  seeing  you  in  this 
part  of  the  country.  I  should  like  much  to  have  asked  you 
some  questions  about  the  Gipsies,  and  particularly  that  great 
mystery — their  language.  I  cannot  determine,  in  my  own 
mind,  whether  it  is  likely  to  prove  really  a  corrupt  eastern 
dialect,  or  whether  it  has  degenerated  into  mere  jargon.” 

About  the  same  time  I  received  the  following  letter  from 
Mr.  William  Laidlaw,  the  particular  friend  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  and  manager  of  his  estate  at  Abbotsford,  as  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  foregoing  letter  ;  the  author  of  “  Lucy’s  Flittin,” 
and  a  contributor  to  Blackwood  : 

“  I  was  very  seriously  disappointed  at  not  seeing  you 
when  you  were  in  this  (part  of  the)  country,  and  so  was  no 
less  a  person  than  the  mighty  minstrel  himself.  He  charged 
me  to  let  him  know  whenever  you  arrived,  for  he  was  very 
anxious  to  see  you.  What  would  it  be  to  you  to  take  the 
coach,  and  three  days  before  you,  and  again  see  your  father 
and  mother,  come  here  on  an  evening,  and  call  on  Mr.  Scott 
next  day?  We  would  then  get  you  full  information  upon 
the  science  of  defence  in  all  its  departments.  Quarterstaff 
is  now  little  practised  ;  but  it  was  a  sort  of  legerdemain 
way  of  fighting  that  I  never  had  mucMe  broo  of,  although  I 
know  somewhat  of  the  method.  It  was  a  most  unfortunate 
and  stupid  trick  of  the  man  to  blow  you  up  with  your  kittle 
acquaintances.  I  hope  they  will  forgive  and  forget.  I  am 
very  much  interested  about  the  language  (Gipsy).  Mr. 
Scott  has  repeatedly  said,  that  whatever  you  hear  or  see,  you 
should  never  let  on  to  naebody,  no  doubt  excepting  himself. 
Be  sure  and  come  well  provided  with  specimens  of  the 
vocables,  as  lie  says  he  might  perhaps  have  it  in  his  power 
to  assist  you  in  your  enquiries.” 

Shortly  after  this,  Sir  Walter  wrote  me  as  follows  : 

“  The  inclosed  letter  has  long  been  written.  I  only  now 
send  it  to  show  that  I  have  not  been  ungrateful,  though  late 
in  expressing  my  thanks.  The  progress  you  have  been  able 
to  make  in  the  Gipsy  language  is  most  extremely  interesting. 
My  acquaintance  with  most  European  languages,  and  with 
slang  words  and  expressions,  enables  me  to  say  positively, 


INTRODUCTION. 


59 


that  the  Gippy  words  you  have  collected  have  no  reference 
to  either,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four.*  I  have 
little  doubt,  from  the  sound  and  appearance,  that  they  are 
Oriental,  probably  Hindostanee.  When  I  go  to  Edinburgh, 
I  shall  endeavour  to  find  a  copy  of  Grellinann,  to  compare 
the  language  of  the  German  Gipsies  with  that  of  the  Scot¬ 
tish  tribes.  As  you  have  already  done  so  much,  I  pray  you 
to  proceed  in  your  enquiries,  but  by  no  means  to  make  any¬ 
thing  public,  as  it  might  spread  a  premature  alarm,  and 
obstruct  your  future  enquiries.  It  would  be  important 
to  get  the  same  words  from  different  individuals  ;  and  in 
order  to  verify  the  collection,  I  would  recommend  you  to 
set  down  the  names  of  the  persons  by  whom  they  were  com¬ 
municated.  It  would  be  important  to  know  whether  they 
have  a  real  language,  with  the  usual  parts  of  speech,  or 
whether  they  have  a  collection  of  nouns,  combined  by  our  own 
language.  I  suspect  the  former  to  be  the  case,  from  the 
specimens  I  have  had.  I  should  like  much  to  see  the  article 
you  proposed  for  the  magazine.  I  am  not  squeamish  about 
delicacies,  where  knowledge  is  to  be  sifted  out  and  acquired. 
I  like  Ebony’st  idea  of  a  history  of  the  Gipsies  very  much, 
and  I  wish  you  would  undertake  it.  I  gave  all  my  scraps 
to  the  magazine  at  its  commencement,  but  I  think  myself 
entitled  to  say  that  you  are  welcome  to  the  use  of  them, 
should  you  choose  to  incorporate  them  into  such  a  work. 
Do  not  be  in  too  great  a  hurry,  but  get  as  many  materials 
as  you  can.”:]: 

And  again  as  follows  : 

“An  authentic  list  of  Gipsy  words,  as  used  in  Scotland, 
especially  if  in  such  numbers  as  may  afford  any  reasonable 


*  I  sent  him  a  specimen  of  forty-six  words.  [Many  words  used  in  Scot¬ 
land,  in  every  day  life,  are  evidently  derived  from  the  Gipsy,  owing,  doubt¬ 
less,  to  the  singularity  of  the  people  who  have  used  them,  or  the  happy 
peculiarity  of  circumstances  under  which  they  have  been  uttered ;  the 
original  cause  of  such  passing  current  in  a  language,  no  less  than  that 
degree  of  personal  authority  which  sometimes  occasions  them  to  be  adopted. 
Randy,  a  disreputable  word  for  a  bold,  scolding,  and  not  over  nicely  worded 
woman,  is  evidently  derived  from  the  Gipsy  raunie,  the  chief  of  a  tribe  of 
viragos;  so  that  the  exceptions  spoken  of  are  as  likely  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  Gipsy  as  vice  versa. — Ei>.  ] 

f  The  name  by  which  Mr.  Blackwood  was  known  in  the  celebrated 
Chaldee  manuscript,  published  in  his  magazine. 

t  Previous  to  this,  Mr.  Blackwood  wrote  me  as  follows :  “  I  received 
yo'ir  packet  some  days  ago,  and  immediately  gave  it  to  the  editor.  He 


60 


INTRODUCTION. 


or  probable  conjecture  as  to  the  structure  of  the  language, 
is  a  desideratum  in  Scottish  literature  -which  -would  be  very 
acceptable  to  the  philologist,  as  well  as  an  addition  to  gen¬ 
eral  history.  I  am  not  aware  that  any  such  exists,  though 
there  is  a  German  publication  on  the  subject,  which  it  would 
be  very  necessary  to  consult.*  That  the  language  exists,  I 
have  no  doubt,  though  I  should  rather  think  the  number  to 
which  it  is  known  is  somewhat  exaggerated.  I  need  not 
point  out  to  you  the  difference  between  the  cant  language, 
or  slang,  used  by  thieves  or  flash  men  in  general,  and  the 
peculiar  dialect  said  to  be  spoken  by  the  Gipsies.t  The 
difference  ought  to  be  very  carefully  noticed,  to  ascertain 
what  sort  of  language  they  exactly  talk  ;  whether  it  is  an 
original  tongue,  having  its  own  mode  of  construction,  or  a 
speech  made  up  of  cant  expressions,  having  an  English  or 
Scotch  ground-work,  and  only  patched  up  so  as  to  be  unin¬ 
telligible  to  the  common  hearer.  There  is  nothing  else 
occurs  to  me  by  which  I  can  be  of  service  to  your  enquiry. 
My  own  opinion  leads  me  to  think  that  the  Gipsies  have  a 
distinct  and  proper  language,  but  I  do  not  consider  it  is 
extensive  enough  to  form  any  settled  conclusion.  If  there 
occur  any  facts  which  I  can  be  supposed  to  know,  on  which 
you  desire  information,  I  will  be  willing  to  give  them,  in 
illustration  of  so  curious  an  enquiry.  I  have  found  them,  in 
general,  civil  and  amenable  to  reason  ;  I  must,  nevertheless, 
add  that  they  are  vindictive,  and  that,  as  the  knowledge 
of  their  language  is  the  secret  which  their  habits  and  igno¬ 
rance  make  them  tenacious  of,  I  think  your  researches, 
unless  conducted  with  great  prudence,  may  possibly  expose 
you  to  personal  danger.  For  the  same  reason,  you  ought 
to  complete  all  the  information  you  can  collect,  before 
alarming  them  by  a  premature  publication,  as,  after  you 

desires  me  to  say  that  your  No.  5,  though  very  curious,  would  not  answer, 
from  the  nature  of  the  details,  to  be  printed  in  the  magazine.  In  a  regular 
history  of  the  Gipsies,  they  would,  of  course,  find  a  place.’’  This  was  what 
suggested  the  idea  of  the  present  work. 

*  Grellmann.  I  am  not  aware  that  he  ever  compared  the  words  I  sent 
him  with  those  in  this  publication,  as  he  wrote  he  would  do,  in  the  pre¬ 
vious  letter  quoted. 

f  Throughout  the  whole  of  his  works  there  does  not  appear,  I  believe,  a 
single  word  of  the  proper  Scottish  Gipsy ;  although  slang  and  cant  expres¬ 
sions  are  to  be  found  in  considerable  numbers.  [Some  of  these  are  of 
Gipsy  extraction. — Ed.] 


INTRODUCTION. 


61 


have  published,  there  will  be  great  obstructions  to  future 
communications  on  the  subject.” 

From  what  has  been  said,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  follow¬ 
ing  investigation  has  had  quite  a  different  object  than  a 
description  of  the  manners  and  habits  of  the  common  vagrants 
of  the  country  ;  for  no  possible  entertainment  could  have 
been  derived  from  such  an  undignified  undertaking.  And 
yet  many  of  our  youth,  although  otherwise  well  informed, 
have  never  made  this  distinction  ;  owing,  no  doubt,  to  the 
cncreased  attention  which  those  in  power  have,  in  late  years, 
bestowed  on  the  internal  affairs  of  the  country,  and  the 
unseen,  but  no  less  surely  felt,  pressure  of  the  advance¬ 
ment  of  the  general  mass,  and  especially  of  the  lower  classes 
of  the  community,  forcing  many  of  these  people  into  posi¬ 
tions  beyond  the  observation  of  those  unacquainted  with 
their  language  and  traits  of  character.  When  it  is,  there¬ 
fore,  considered,  that  the  body  treated  of,  is  originally  an 
exotic,  comprising,  I  am  satisfied,  no  less  than  five  thousand 
souls  in  Scotland*  speaking  an  original  and  peculiar  lan¬ 
guage,  which  is  mysteriously  used  among  themselves  with 
great  secrecy,  and  differing  so  widely  from  the  ordinary  na¬ 
tives  of  the  soil,  it  may  well  claim  some  little  portion  of  public 
attention.  A  further  importance  attaches  to  the  subject, 
when  it  is  considered  that  a  proportionate  number  is  to  be 
found  in  the  other  divisions  of  the  British  Isles,  and  large 
hordes  in  all  parts  of  Europe,  and  more  or  less  in  every 
other  part  of  the  world  ;  in  all  places  speaking  the  same 
language,  with  only  a  slight  difference  in  dialect,  and  mani¬ 
festing  the  same  peculiarities.  In  using  the  language  of  Dr. 
Bright,  it  may  be  said,  that  the  circumstance  is  the  most 
singular  phenomenon  in  the  history  of  man  ;  much  more 
striking,  indeed,  than  that  of  the  Jews.  For  the  Jews  have 
been  favoured  with  the  most  splendid  antecedents  ;  a  com¬ 
mon  parentage  ;  a  common  history  ;  a  special  and  exclusive 
revelation  ;  a  deeply  rooted  religious  prejudice,  and  anti¬ 
pathy  ;  a  common  persecution  ;  and  whatever  might  appear 
necessary  to  preserve  their  identity  in  the  world,  excepting 
an  isolated  territorial  and  political  existence.!  The  Gipsies, 

*  There  cannot  be  less  than  100,000  Gipsies  in  Scotland.  See  Disquisi¬ 
tion  on  the  Gipsies. — Ed. 

f  The  following  is  a  description  of  the  Jews,  throughout  the  world,  as 
given  by  them,  in  their  letters  to  Voltaire:  “  A  Jew  in  London  bears  as 


62 


INTRODUCTION. 


on  the  other  hand,  have  had  none  of  these  advantages.  But 
it  is  certain  that  the  leaders  of  their  hands,  in  addition  to 
their  piteous  representations,  must  have  had  something  strik¬ 
ing  about  them,  to  recommend  them  to  the  favourable  notice 
which  they  seem  to  have  met  with,  at  the  hands  of  some  of 
the  sovereigns  of  Europe,  when  they  made  their  appearance 
there,  and  spread  over  its  surface.  Still,  their  assumptions 
might,  and  in  all  probability  did,  rest  merely  upon  an  amount 
of  general  superiority  of  character,  of  a  particular  kind, 
without  even  the  first  elements  of  education,  which  in  that 
age  would  amount  to  something  ;  a  leading  feature  of  cha¬ 
racter  which  their  chiefs  have  ever  since  maintained  ;  and 
yet,  although  everything  has  been  left  by  them  to  tradition, 
the  Gipsies  speak  their  language  much  better  than  the  Jews. 

Gipsies  and  Jews  have  many  things  in  common.  They 
are  both  strangers  and  sojourners,  in  a  sense,  wherever  they 
are  to  be  found  ;  “  dwelling  in  tents,”  the  one  literally,  the 
other  figuratively.  They  have  each  undergone  many  bloody 
persecutions  ;  the  one  for  his  stubborn  blindness  to  the  ad¬ 
vent  of  the  Messiah,  the  other  for  being  a  heathen,  and 
worse  than  a  heathen — for  being  nothing  at  all,  but  linked 
with  the  evil  one,  in  all  manner  of  witchcraft  and  sin. 
Each  race  has  had  many  crimes  brought  against  it ;  the 
Gipsy,  those  of  a  positive,  and  the  Jew,  those  of  a  con¬ 
structive  and  arbitrary  nature.  But  in  these  respects  they 
differ:  the  Jew  has  been  known  and  famed  for  doing  almost 
anything  for  money ;  and  the  Gipsy  for  the  mere  gratifica¬ 
tion  of  his  most  innate  nature — that  of  appropriating  to 
himself,  when  he  needs  it,  that  which  is  claimed  by  any  out 
of  the  circle  of  his  consanguinity.  The  one’s  soul  is  given 
to  accumulating,  and,  if  it  is  in  his  power,  he  becomes  rich  ; 
the  other  more  commonly  aims  at  securing  what  meets  his 
ordinary  wants,  and,  perhaps,  some  little  thing  additional ; 

little  resemblance  to  a  Jew  at  Constantinople,  as  this  last  resembles  a 
Chinese  Mandarin  !  A  Portuguese  Jew,  of  Bordeaux,  and  a  German  Jew, 
of  Metz,  appear  two  beings  of  a  different  nature  !  It  is,  therefore,  impos¬ 
sible  to  speak  of  the  manners  of  the  Jews  in  general,  without  entering  into  a 
very  long  detail,  and  into  particular  distinctions.  The  Jew  is  a  chamelion, 
that  assumes  all  the  colours  of  the  different  climates  he  inhabits,  of  the 
different  people  he  frequents,  and  of  the  different  governments  under  which 
he  lives.” 

These  words  are  much  more  applicable  to  the  Gipsy  tribe,  in  consequence 
of  their  drawing  into  their  body  the  blood  of  other  people. — Ed. 


INTRODUCTION. 


63 


or,  if  be  prove  otherwise,  he  liberally  spends  what  he  ac¬ 
quires.  The  Gipsy  is  humane  to  a  stranger,  when  he  has 
been  rightly  appealed  to ;  but  when  that  circumstance  is 
wanting,  he  will  never  hesitate  to  rob  him,  unless  when  he 
stands  indebted  to  him,  or,  it  may  be,  his  immediate  relations, 
for  previous  acts  of  kindness.  To  indulge  his  hatred  to¬ 
wards  an  enemy,  a  Jew  will  oppress  him,  if  lie  is  his  debtor, 
“  exacting  his  bond  or  if  he  is  not  his  debtor,  he  will  often 
endeavour  to  get  him  to  become  such,  with  the  same  motive  ; 
or  it  may  be,  if  his  enemy  stands  in  need  of  accommodation, 
he  will  not  supply  his  wants  ;  at  other  times,  if  he  is  poor, 
he  will  ostentatiously  make  a  display  of  his  wealth,  to  spite 
him  ;  and,  in  carrying  out  his  vengeance,  will  sometimes  dis¬ 
play  the  malignity,  barring,  perhaps,  the  shedding  of  blood, 
of  almost  every  other  race  combined.  In  such  a  case,  a 
Gipsy  will  rob,  burn,  maltreat,  maim,  carry  off  a  child,  and 
sometimes  murder,  but  not  often  the  two  last  at  the  pre¬ 
sent  day.*  The  two  races  are  to  be  found  side  by  side,  in 
countries  characterized  by  almost  every  degree  of  climate 
and  stage  of  civilization,  each  displaying  its  peculiar  type  of 
feature,  but  differing  in  this  respect,  that  the  Gipsies  read¬ 
ily  adopt  others  into  their  tribe,  at  such  a  tender  age  as  to 
secure  an  infallible  attachment  to  their  race  and  habits. 
This  circumstance  has  produced,  in  many  instances,  a  change 
in  the  colour  of  the  hair  and  eyes  of  the  descendants  of 
those  adopted.  In  some  such  cases,  it  requires  an  intimate 
knowledge  of  the  body,  to  detect  the  peculiarity  common  to 
all,  and  especially  in  those  who  have  conformed  to  the  ways 
of  the  other  inhabitants.  In  this  they  agree — that  they  des¬ 
pise  and  hate,  and  arc  despised  and  hated  by,  those  among 
whom  they  live.  But  in  this  they  differ — that  the  Jew  en¬ 
tered  Europe,  as  it  were,  singly  and  by  stealth,  pursuing 
pretty  much  the  avocations  he  yet  follows  ;  but  the  Gipsies, 
in  bands,  and  openly,  although  they  were  forced  to  betake 
themselves  to  places  of  retreat,  and  break  up  into  smaller 
bands.  It  is  true  that  the  Jew  was  driven  from  his  home 
eighteen  centuries  ago,  and  that  it  is  not  yet  five  since  the 
Gipsy  appeared  in  Europe.  We  know  who  the  Jew  is,  and 
something  of  the  providence  and  circumstances  under  which 
he  suffers,  and  what  future  awaits  him  ;  but  who  is  this  sin- 

*  This,  I  need  hardly  say,  is  a  description  of  what  may  be  called  a  wild 
Gipsy. — Ed. 


64 


INTRODUCTION. 


gular  and  unfortunate  exile,  whose  origin  and  cause  of  ban¬ 
ishment  none  can  comprehend — who  is  this  wandering  Gipsy  ? 

After  the  receipt  of  the  second  of  Sir  Walter  Scott’s 
letters,  already  alluded  to,  I  discontinued  the  few  short  arti¬ 
cles  I  had  written  for  Blackwood,  on  the  Fifeshire  Gipsies  ; 
but  I  have  incorporated  the  most  interesting  part  of  them 
into  the  work,  forming,  however,  only  a  small  part  of  the 
whole.  Since  it  was  written,  I  have  seen  Mr.  Borrow  on 
the  Gipsies  in  Spain,  and  the  short  report  of  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Baird,  to  the  Scottish  Church  Society  ;  the  latter  printed  in 
1840,  and  the  former  in  1841.  The  Gitanos  in  Spain  and 
the  Tinklers  in  Scotland  are,  in  almost  every  particular,  the 
same  people,  while  the  Yetholm  Gipsy  words  in  Mr.  Baird’s 
report  and  those  collected  by  me,  for  the  most  part,  between 
the  years  1817  and  1831,  are  word  for  word  the  same. 

In  submitting  this  work  to  the  public,  I  deem  it  necessary 
to  say  a  word  or  two  as  to  the  authorities  upon  which  the 
facts  contained  in  it  rest.  My  authorities  for  those  under 
the  heads  of  Fife  and  Linlithgowshire  Gipsies,  were  aged  and 
creditable  persons,  who  had  been  eye-witnesses  to  the  greater 
part  of  the  transactions  ;  in  some  cases,  the  particulars  were 
quite  current  in  their  time.  The  details  under  the  head  of 
Gipsies  who  frequented  Tweed-dale,  Ettrick  Forest,  Annan- 
dale,  and  the  upper  ward  of  Lanarkshire,  were  chiefly  de¬ 
rived  from  the  memories  of  some  of  my  relatives,  and  other 
individuals  of  credit,  who  had  many  opportunities  of  observ¬ 
ing  the  manners  of  these  wanderers,  in  the  South  of  Scotland, 
the  greater  number  being  confirmed  by  the  Gipsies,  on  being 
interrogated.  The  particulars  under  the  head  of  the  cere¬ 
monies  of  marriage  and  divorce,  and  the  sacrifice  of  horses, 
were  related  by  Gipsies,  and  confirmed  by  other  undoubted 
testimony,  as  will  appear  in  detail.  Almost  every  recent 
occurrence  and  matter  relative  to  the  present  condition, 
employment,  and  number  of  the  body,  is  the  result  of  my  own 
personal  enquiries  and  observations,  while  the  whole  speci¬ 
mens  of  the  language,  and  the  facts  immediately  connected 
therewith,  were  written  down,  with  my  own  hand,  from  the 
mouths  of  the  Gipsies  themselves,  and  confirmed,  at  intervals, 
by  others.  Indeed,  my  chief  object  has  been  to  produce  facts 
from  an  original  source,  in  Scotland,  as  far  as  respects  man¬ 
ners,  customs,  and  language,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining 
the  origin  of  this  mysterious  race,  and  the  country  from 


INTRODUCTION. 


65 


which  they  have  migrated  ;  and  the  result,  to  my  mind,  is  a 
complete  confirmation  of  Grellmann,  Hoyland,  and  Bright, 
that  they  are  from  Hindostan. 

In  writing  the  history  of  any  barbarous  race,  if  history  it 
can  be  called,  the  field  for  our  observation  must  necessarily 
be  very  limited.  This  may  especially  be  said  of  a  people 
like  the  Gipsies  ;  for,  having,  as  a  people,  neither  literature, 
records,  nor  education,*  all  that  can  be  drawn  together  of 
their  history,  from  themselves,  must  be  confined  to  that  of 
the  present,  or  of  such  time  as  the  freshness  of  their  tradi¬ 
tion  may  suffice  to  illustrate  ;  unless  it  be  a  few  precarious 
notices  of  them,  that  may  have  been  elicited  from  their  having 
come,  it  may  be,  in  violent  contact  with  their  civilized  neigh¬ 
bours  around  them.  In  attempting  such  a  work,  in  connection 
with  so  singular  a  people,  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  suc¬ 
ceeding  in  it  are  extraordinarily  great,  as  the  reader  may 
have  perceived,  from  what  has  already  been  written,  and  as 
the  “  blowing  up,”  alluded  to  in  Mr.  Laidlaw’s  letter,  will 
illustrate,  and  which  was  as  follows  : 

I  had  obtained  some  of  the  Gipsy  language  from  a  prin¬ 
cipal  family  of  the  tribe,  on  condition  of  not  publishing 
names,  or  place  of  residence  ;  and,  at  many  miles’ distance,  I 
had  also  obtained  some  particulars  relative  to  the  customs 
and  manners  of  the  race,  from  a  highly  respectable  farmer, 
in  the  south  of  Scotland.  At  his  farm,  the  family  alluded 
to  always  took  up  their  quarters,  in  their  periodical  journeys 
through  the  country.  The  farmer,  without  ever  thinking  of 
the  consequences,  told  them  that  I  was  collecting  materials 
for  a  publication  on  the  Tinklers,  in  Scotland,  and  that  every¬ 
thing  relative  to  their  tribe  would  be  given  to  the  world. 
The  aged  chief  of  the  family  was  thrown  into  the  greatest 
distress,  at  the  idea  of  the  name  and  residence  of  himself 
and  family  being  made  public.  I  received  a  letter  from  the 
family,  deeply  lamenting  that  they  had  ever  communicated  a 
word  to  me  relative  to  their  language,  and  stating  that  the  old 
man  was  like  to  break  his  heart,  at  his  own  imprudence,  being 
in  agony  at  the  thought  of  his  language  being  published  to  the 
world.  I  assured  them,  however,  that  they  had  no  cause  for 
fear,  as  I  had  never  so  much  as  mentioned  their  names  to 

*  There  are,  comparatively  speaking,  few  Gipsies  in  Scotland  that  have 
not  some  education,  in  common  with  the  ordinary  natives  of  the  soil;  but 
the  same  cannot  be  said  of  England. — Ed. 


66 


INTRODUCTION. 


their  friend,  the  farmer,  and  that  I  would  strictly  adhere  to 
the  promise  I  had  given  them.  This  was  one  of  the  many 
instances  in  which  1  was  obstructed  in  my  labours,  for,  how¬ 
ever  cautious  I  might  personally  be,  others,  who  became  in 
some  way  or  other  acquainted  with  my  object,  were,  from 
inconsiderate  meddling,  the  cause  of  many  difficulties  being 
thrown  in  my  way,  and  the  consequent  loss  of  much  interest¬ 
ing  information.  But  for  this  unfortunate  circumstance,  I 
am  sanguine,  from  the  method  I  took  in  managing  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  1  would  have  been  able  to  collect  songs,  and  sentences 
of  their  language,  and  much  more  information  than  what 
has  been  procured,  at  whatever  value  the  reader  may  es¬ 
timate  that ;  for  the  Gipsies  are  always  more  or  less  in  com¬ 
munication  with  each  other,  in  their  various  divisions  of  the 
country,  especially  when  threatened  with  anything  deemed 
dangerous,  which  they  circulate  among  themselves  with  as¬ 
tonishing  celerity. 

Professor  Wilson,  in  a  poetical  notice  of  Blackwood’s 
Magazine,  writes  : 

“  Few  things  more  sweetly  vary  civil  life 
Than  a  barbarian,  savage  Tinkler  tale ; 

Our  friend,  who  on  the  Gipsies  writes  in  Fife, 

We  verily  believe  promotes  our  sale.” 

And,  in  revising  his  works,  in  1831,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  a 
note  to  Quentin  Durward,  says,  relative  to  the  present  work  : 

“  It  is  natural  to  suppose,  the  band,  (Gipsy),  as  it  now 
exists,  is  much  mingled  with  Europeans  ;  but  most  of  these 
have  been  brought  up  from  childhood  among  them,  and 
learned  all  their  practices.  .  .  .  When  they  are  in 

closest  contact  with  the  ordinary  peasants  around  them,  they 
still  keep  their  language  a  mystery.  There  is  little  doubt, 
however,  that  it  is  a  dialect  of  the  Hindostanee,  from  the 
specimens  produced  by  Grellmann,  Hoyland,  and  others  who 
have  written  on  the  subject.  But  the  author,  (continues  Sir 
Walter,)  has,  besides  their  authority,  personal  occasion  to 
know,  that  an  individual,  out  of  mere  curiosity,  and  availing 
himself,  with  patience  and  assiduity,  of  such  opportunities  as 
offered,  has  made  himself  capable  of  conversing  with  any 
Gipsy  whom  he  meets,  or  can,  like  the  royal  Hal,  drink 
with  any  tinker,  in  his  own  language.*  The  astonishment 

*  Allowance  must  be  made  for  the  enthusiasm  of  the  novelist. 


INTRODUCTION. 


67 


excited  among  these  vagrants,  on  finding  a  stranger  parti¬ 
cipant  of  their  mystery,  occasions  very  ludicrous  scenes.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  this  gentleman  will  publish  the  knowledge  he 
possesses  on  so  singular  a  topic.  There  are  prudential 
reasons  for  postponing  this  disclosure  at  present,  for,  al¬ 
though  much  more  reconciled  to  society  since  they  have 
been  less  the  objects  of  legal  persecution,  the  Gipsies  are 
still  a  ferocious  and  vindictive  people.”* 


*  Abbotsford,  1st  Dec.,  1831. 


CHAPTER  I. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 

Before  giving  an  account  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  I 
shall,  by  way  of  introduction,  briefly  notice  the  periods  of 
time  at  which  they  were  observed  in  the  different  states  on 
the  continent  of  Europe,  and  point  out  the  different  periods 
at  which  their  governments  found  it  necessary  to  expel  them 
from  their  respective  territories.  I  shall  also  add  a  few 
facts  illustrative  of  the  manners  of  the  continental  tribes,  for 
the  purpose  of  showing  that  those  in  Scotland,  England,  and 
Ireland,  are  all  branches  of  the  same  stock.  I  shall,  like¬ 
wise,  add  a  few  facts  illustrative  of  the  tribe  who  found 
their  way  into  England.  I  am  indebted  for  my  information 
on  the  early  history  of  the  continental  Gipsies,  chiefly  to 
the  works  of  Grellmann,  Hoyland  and  Bright. 

It  appears  that  none  of  these-  wanderers  had  been  seen  in 
Christendom  before  the  year  140©-*  But,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  this  people  first  attracted  notice, 
and,  within  a  few  years  after  their  arrival,  had  spread  them¬ 
selves  over  the  whole  continent.  The  earliest  mention 
which  is  made  of  them,  was  in  the  years  1414  and  1417, 
when  they  were  observed  in  Germany.  In  1418,  they  were 
found  in  Switzerland  ;  in  1422,  in  Italy  ;  in  1427,  they  are 
mentioned  as  being  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Paris  ;  and 
about  the  same  time,  in  Spain.t 

They  seem  to  have  received  various  appellations.  In 
France,  they  were  called  Bohemians  ;  in  Holland,  Heydens 
— heathens  ;  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  and  in  Sweden  and 
Denmark,  they  were  thought  to  be  Tartars  ;  but  over  Ger¬ 
many,  in  general,  they  were  called  Zigeuners,  a  word  which 
means  wanderers  up  and  down.  In  Portugal,  they  received 

*  Sir  Thomas  Brown’s  vulgar  errors,  f  Bright’s  travels  in  Hungary. 

(69) 


70 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  name  of  Siganos  ;  in  Spain,  Gitanos  ;  and  in  Italy,  Cin- 
gari.  They  were  also  called  in  Italy,  Hungary,  and  Ger¬ 
many,  Tziganys ;  and  in  Transylvania,  Cyganis.  Among 
the  Turks,  and  other  eastern  nations,  they  were  denominated 
Tschingenes  ;  but  the  Moors  and  Arabians  applied  to  them, 
perhaps,  the  most  just  appellation  of  any — Charami,  rob¬ 
bers.* 

“  When  they  arrived  at  Paris,  1 7 tli  August,  1427,  nearly 
all  of  them  had  their  ears  bored,  with  one  or  two  silver  rings 
in  each,  which,  they  said,  were  esteemed  ornaments  in  their 
country.  The  men  were  black,  their  hair  curled  ;  the  wo¬ 
men  remarkably  black,  and  all  their  faces  scarred.”!'  Dr. 
Hurd,  in  his  account  of  the  different  religions  of  the  world, 
says,  that  the  hair  of  these  men  was  “  frizzled,”  and  that 
some  of  the  women  were  witches,  and  “  had  hair  like  a 
horse’s  tail.”  It  is,  I  think,  to  be  inferred  from  this  passage, 
that  the  men  had  designedly  curled  their  hair,  and  that  the 
hair  of  the  females  was  long  and  coarse — not  the  short,  woolly 
hair  of  the  African.  I  have,  myself,  seen  English  female 
Gipsies  with  hair  as  long,  coarse,  and  thick  as  a  black 
horse’s  tail. 

“  At  the  time  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  Gipsies,  no 
certain  information  seems  to  have  been  obtained  as  to  the 
country  from  which  they  came.  It  is,  however,  supposed 
that  they  entered  Europe  in  the  south-east,  probably  through 
Transylvania.  At  first,  they  represented  themselves  as 
Egyptian  pilgrims,  and,  under  that  character,  obtained  con¬ 
siderable  respect  during  half  a  century  ;  being  favoured  by 
different  potentates  with  passports,  and  letters  of  security. 
Gradually,  however,  they  really  became,  or  were  fancied, 
troublesome,  and  Italy,  Sweden,  Denmark  and  Germany, 
successively  attempted  their  expulsion,  in  the  sixteenth  cen¬ 
tury.”!; 

With  the  exception  of  Hungary  and  Transylvania,  it  is 
believed  that  every  state  in  Europe  attempted  either  their 
expulsion  or  extermination  ;  but,  notwithstanding  the  dread¬ 
ful  severity  of  the  numerous  laws  and  edicts  promulgated 
against  them,  they  remained  in  every  part  of  Europe,  in 
defiance  of  every  effort  made  by  their  respective  govern¬ 
ments  to  get  rid  of  their  unwelcome  guests. 


Hoyland’8  historical  survey  of  the  Gipsies,  f  Ibid,  f  Bright. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


71 


“  German  writers  say  that  King  Ferdinand  of  Spain,  who 
esteemed  it  a  good  work  to  expatriate  useful  and  profitable 
subjects — Jews,  and  even  Moorish  families — could  much  less 
be  guilty  of  an  impropriety,  in  laying  hands  on  the  mischiev¬ 
ous  progeny  of  Gipsies.  The  edict  for  their  extermination 
was  published  in  the  year  1492.  But,  instead  of  passing  the 
boundaries,  they  only  slunk  into  hiding  places,  and  shortly 
after  appeared  in  as  great  numbers  as  before.  The  Emperor, 
Charles  Y,  persecuted  them  afresh  ;  as  did  Philip  II.  Since 
that  time,  they  nestled  in  again,  and  were  threatened  with 
another  storm,  but  it  blew  over  without  taking  effect. 

“  In  France,  Francis  I  passed  an  edict  for  their  expul¬ 
sion,  and  at  the  assembly  of  the  states  of  Orleans,  in  1561, 
all  governors  of  cities  received  orders  to  drive  them  out 
with  fire  and  sword.  Nevertheless,  in  process  of  time,  they 
collected  again,  and  encreased  to  such  a  degree  that,  in  1612, 
a  new  order  came  out  for  their  extermination.  In  the  year 
1572,  they  were  compelled  to  retire  from  the  territories  of 
Milan  and  Parma  ;  and,  at  a  period  somewhat  earlier,  they 
were  chased  beyond  the  Venetian  jurisdiction. 

“  They  were  not  allowed  the  privilege  of  remaining  in 
Denmark,  as  the  code  of  Danish  law  specifies  :  1  The  Tartar 
Gipsies,  who  wander  about  everywhere,  doing  great  damage 
to  the  people,  by  their  lies,  thefts  and  witchcraft,  shall  bo 
taken  into  custody  by  every  magistrate.’  Sweden  was  not 
more  favourable,  having  attacked  them  at  three  different 
times.  A  very  sharp  order  for  their  expulsion  came  out  in 
1662.  The  diet  of  1723  published  a  second  ;  and  that  of 
1727  repeated  the  foregoing,  with  additional  severity. 

“They  were  excluded  from  the  Netherlands,  under  the 
pain  of  death,  by  Charles  Y,  and  afterwards,  by  the  United 
States,  in  1582.  But  the  greatest  number  of  sentences  of 
exile  have  been  pronounced  against  them  in  Germany.  The 
beginning  was  made  under  Maximilian  I,  at  the  Augsburg 
Diet-in  1500  ;  and  the  same  business  occupied  the  attention 
of  the  Diet  in  1530,  1544,  1548,  and  1551  ;  and  was  also 
again  enforced,  in  the  improved  police  regulations  of  Frank¬ 
fort,  in  1577.”*  The  Germans  entertained  the  notion  that 
the  Gipsies  were  spies  for  the  Turks.  They  were  not  allowed 
to  pass  through,  remain,  or  trade  within  the  Empire.  They 
were  ordered  to  quit  entirely  the  German  dominions,  by  a 
*  Hoy  land. 


72 


A  HIST  GUY  OF  TUB  GIPSIES. 


certain  day,  and  whoever  injured  them,  after  that  period,  was 
considered  to  have  committed  no  crime. 

“  But  a  general  extermination  never  did  happen,  for  the 
law  banishing  them  passed  in  one  state  before  it  was 
thought  of  in  the  next,  or  when  a  like  order  had  long  become 
obsolete,  and  sunk  into  oblivion.  These  undesirable  guests 
were,  therefore,  merely  compelled  to  shift  their  quarters  to 
an  adjoining  state,  where  they  remained  till  the  government 
began  to  clear  them  away,  upon  which  the  fugitives  either 
retired  whence  they  came,  or  went  on  progressively  to  a 
third  place — thus  making  a  continual  circle.”* 

That  almost  the  whole  of  Christendom  had  been  so  pro¬ 
voked  by  the  conduct  of  the  Gipsies  as  to  have  attempted 
their  expulsion,  or  rather  their  extermination,  merely  because 
they  were  jugglers,  fortune-tellers,  astrologers,  warlocks, 
witches  and  impostors,  is  a  thing  not  for  a  moment  to  be 
supposed.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  true  cause  of 
the  promulgation  of  the  excessively  sanguinary  laws  and 
edicts,  for  the  extermination  of  the  whole  Gipsy  nation  in 
Europe,  must  be  looked  for  in  much  more  serious  crimes 
than  those  mentioned  ;  and  that  these  greater  offences  can 
be  no  other  than  theft  and  robbery,  and  living  upon  the 
inhabitants  of  the  countries  through  which  they  travelled, 
at  free  quarters,  or  what  we,  in  Scotland,  call  sorning.t 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  I  am  convinced  that  the  Gipsies 
have  committed  few  murders  on  individuals  out  of  their  own 
tribe.  As  far  as  our  authorities  go,  the  general  character 
of  these  people  seems  to  have  been  the  same,  wherever  they 
have  made  their  appearance  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and 
the  chief  and  leading  feature  of  that  extraordinary  charac¬ 
ter  appears  to  me  to  have  been,  in  general,  an  hereditary 
propensity  to  theft  and  robbery,  in  men,  women  and  children. 

In  whatever  country  we  find  the  Gipsies,  their  manners, 
habits,  and  cast  of  features  are  uniformly  the  same.  Their 
occupations  are  in  every  respect  the  same.  They  were,  on 

*  Grellraann. 

I  Dr.  Hurd  says,  at  page  785,  “Our  over  credulous  ancestors  vainly  im¬ 
agined  that  those  Gipsies  or  Bohemians  were  so  many  spies  for  the  Turks ; 
and  that,  in  order  to  expiate  the  crimes  which  they  had  committed  in  their 
own  country,  they  were  condemned  to  steal  from  and  rob  the  Christians.” 

[Living  at  free  quarters  by  force,  or  masterful  begging,  or  “  sorning,”  is 
surely  a  trifling,  though  troublesome,  offence  for  tbe  original  condition  of 
a  wandering  tribe,  which  has  so  progressed  as,  at  the  present  day,  to  fill 
some  of  the  first  positions  in  Scotland. — Ed.] 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


73 


L 

the  continent,  horse-dealers,  innkeepers,  workers  in  iron, 
musicians,  astrologers,  jugglers,  and  fortune-tellers  by  palm¬ 
istry.  They  arc  also  accused  of  cheating,  lying,  and  witch¬ 
craft,  and,  in  general,  charged  with  being  thieves  and  rob¬ 
bers.  They  roam  up  and  down  the  country,  without  any 
fixed  habitations,  living  in  tents,  and  hawking  small  trifles 
of  merchandise  for  the  use  of  the  people  among  whom  they 
travel.  The  whole  race  were  great  frequenters  of  fairs. 
They  seldom  formed  matrimonial  alliances  out  of  their  own 
tribe.*  It  will  be  seen,  in  another  part  of  this  work,  that 
the  language  of  the  continental  Gipsies  is  the  same  as  that 
of  those  in  Scotland,  England  and  Ireland.  As  to  the 
religious  opinions  of  the  continental  Gipsies,  they  appear  to 
have  had  none  at  all.  It  is  said  they  were  “  worse  thatT 
heathens.”  “It  is,  in  reality,”  says  Twiss,  “almost  absurd 
to  talk  of  the  religion  of  this  set  of  people,  whose  moral 
characters  are  so  depraved  as  to  make  it  evident  they  be¬ 
lieve  in  nothing  capable  of  being  a  check  to  their  passions.” 
“Indeed,”  adds  Hoyland,  “it  is  asserted  that  no  Gipsy  has 
any  idea  of  submission  to  any  fixed  profession  of  faith.”  It 
appears  to  me  that,  to  secure  to  themselves  protection  from 
the  different  governments,  they  only  conformed  outwardly 
to  the  customs  and  religion  of  the  country  in  which  they 
happened  to  reside  at  the  time. 

Cantemir,  according  to  Grellmann,  says  that  the  Gipsies 
are  dispersed  all  over  Moldavia,  where  every  baron  has 
several  families  subject  to  him.  In  Wallachia  and  the 
Sclavonian  countries  they  arc  quite  as  numerous.  In  Wal¬ 
lachia  and  Moldavia  they  are  divided  into  two  classes — the 
princely  and  boyardish.  The  former,  according  to  Sulzer, 
amount  to  many  thousands  ;  but  that  is  tr.iflng  in  comparison 
witli  the  latter,  as  there  is  not  a  single  Boyard  in  Wallachia 
who  has  not  at  least  three  or  four  of  them  for  slaves  ;  the 
rich  have  often  some  hundreds  under  their  command.!  Grell- 

*  Iloyland. 

t  In  the  narrative  of  the  Scottish  Church  Mission  of  Enquiry  to  the 
Jews,  in  1 8 :■> 9 ,  are  to  be  found  the  following  remarks  relative  to  the  Gipsies 
of  Wallachia: 

“  They  are  almost  all  slaves,  bought  and  sold  at  pleasure.  One  was 
lately  sold  for  200  piastres,  but  the  general  price  is  BOO.  Perhaps  £3  is 
the  average  price,  and  the  female  Gipsies  are  sold  much  cheaper.  The  sale 
is  generally  carried  on  by  private  bargain.  '1  he  men  are  the  best  me¬ 
chanics  in  the  country ;  so  that  smiths  and  masons  are  taken  from  this 
class.  The  women  are  considered  the  best  cooks,  and  therefore  almost 

4 


74 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


maun  divides  those  in  Transylvania  into  four  classes  :  1st, 
city  Gipsies,  who  arc  the  most  civilized  of  all,  and  maintain 
themselves  by  music,  smith-work,  selling  old  clothes,  horse¬ 
dealing,  &c. ;  2d.  gold-washers  ;  3d.  tent  Gipsies  ;  and  4th. 
Egyptian  Gipsies.  These  last  are  more  filthy,  and  more 
addicted  to  stealing  than  any  of  the  others.  Those  who 
are  gold-washers,  in  Transylvania  and  the  Banat,  have  no 
intercourse  with  others  of  their  nation  ;  nor  do  they  like  to 
be  called  Gipsies.  They  sift  gold  sand  in  summer,  and  in 
winter  make  trays  and  troughs,  which  they  sell  in  an  honest 
way.  They  seldom  beg,  and  more  rarely  steal.  Dr.  Clarke 
says  of  the  Wallachian  Gipsies,  that  they  are  not  an  idle 
race;  they  ought  rather  to  be  described  as  a  laborious 
race  ;  and  the  majority  honestly  endeavour  to  earn  a  liveli¬ 
hood. 

every  wealthy  family  lias  a  Gipsy  cook.  Their  appearance  is  similar  to 
that  of  the  Gipsies  in  other  countries;  being  all  dark,  with  fine  black  eyes, 
and  long  black  hair.  They  have  a  language  peculiar  to  themselves,  and 
though  they  seem  to  have  no  system  of  religion,  yet  are  very  superstitious 
in  observing  lucky  and  unlucky  days.  They  are  all  fond  of  music,  both 
vocal  and  instrumental,  and  excel  in  it.  There  is  a  class  of  them  called  the 
Turkish  Gipsies,  who  have  purchased  their  freedom  from  government;  but 
these  are  few  in  nnml  er,  and  all  from  Turkey.  Of  these  latter,  there  are 
twelve  families  in  Galatz.  The  men  are  employed  as  horse-dealers,  and  the 
women  in  making  bags,  sacks,  and  such  articles.  In  winter,  they  live  in 
town,  almost  under  ground ;  but  in  summer,  they  pitch  their  tents  in  the 
open  air,  for,  though  still  within  the  bounds  of  the  town,  they  would  not 
live  in  their  winter  houses  during  summer.” 

That  these  Gipsies  should  be  in  a  state  of  slavery  is,  perhaps,  a  more 
marked  exception  to  their  race  than  the  Indians  in  Spanish  America  were 
to  those  found  in  the  territories  colonized  by  the  Anglo-Saxons.  The  Em¬ 
press  Maria  Theresa  could  make  nothing  of  the  Gipsies  in  Hungary,  where 
they  are  said  to  be  almost  as  little  looked  after  as  the  wolves  of  the  forest ; 
so  that  the  slave'ry  of  the  Gipsies  in  Wallachia  must  be  of  a  very  nominal 
or  mild  nature,  or  the  subjects  of  it  must  be  far  in  excess  of  the  demand, 
if  £3  is  the  average  price  of  a  good  smith  or  mason,  and  less  for  a  good 
female  cook.  These  Wallachian  Gipsies  evidently  prefer  a  master  whose 
property  they  will  consider  as  their  own,  and  whose  protection  will  relieve 
them  from  the  interference  and  oppression  of  others.  A  slavery  that  is 
not  absolute  or  oppressive  must  gratify  the  vanity  of  the  owner,  and  be 
easily  borne  by  a  race  that  is  semi-civilized  and  despised  by  others 
around  it. 

Since  the  conclusion  of  the  Russian  war,  the  manumission  of  the  Gipsiea 
of  the  Principalities  was  debated  and  carried  by  a  majority  of  something 
like  thirteen  against  eleven  ;  but  I  am  not  aware  of  its  having  been  put  in 
force.  They  are  said  to  have  been  greatly  attached  to  the  late  Sultana- 
calling  him  the  “good  father,”  for  the  interest  bo  took  in  them.  As  spies, 
they  rendered  his  generals  efficient  services,  while  contending  with  the 
Russians  on  the  Danube. — Ed. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


75 


“Bessarabia,  all  Turkey,  Bulgaria,  Greece,  and  Romania 
swarm  with  Gipsies  ;  even  in  Constantinople  they  are  innu¬ 
merable.  In  Romania,  a  large  tract  of  Mount  Hminus, 
which  they  inhabit,  has  acquired  from  them  the  name  of 
TschengJie  Vallcen — Gipsy  Mountain.  This  district  extends 
from  the  city  of  Aydos  quite  to  Phillippopolis,  and  contains 
more  Gipsies  than  any  other  province  in  the  Turkish 
empire. 

“  They  were  universally  to  be  found  in  Italy,  insomuch 
that  even  Sicily  and  Sardinia  were  not  free.  But  they  were 
most  numerous  in  the  dominions  of  the  Church  ;  probably 
because  there  was  the  worst  police,  with  much  superstition. 
By  the  former,  they  were  left  undisturbed  ;  and  the  latter 
enticed  them  to  deceive  the  ignorant,  as  it  afforded  them  an 
opportunity  of  obtaining  a  plentiful  contribution  by  their 
fortune-telling  and  enchanted  amulets.  There  was  a  general 
law  throughout  Italy,  that  no  Gipsy  should  remain  more 
than  two  nights  in  any  one  place.  By  this  regulation,  it  is 
true,  no  place  retained  its  guests  long  ;  but  no  sooner  was 
one  gone  than  another  came  in  his  room  :  it  was  a  continual 
circle,  and  quite  as  convenient  to  them  as  a  perfect  tolera¬ 
tion  would  have  been.  Italy  rather  suffered  than  benefited 
by  this  law  ;  as,  by  keeping  these  people  in  constant  motion, 
they  would  do  more  mischief  there,  than  in  places  where 
they  were  permitted  to  remain  stationary. 

“In  Poland  and  Lithuania,  as  well  as  in  Courland,  there 
are  an  amazing  number  of  Gipsies.  A  person  may  live  many 
years  in  Upper  Saxony,  or  in  the  districts  of  Hanover  and 
Brunswick,  without  seeing  a  single  Gipsy.  When  one 
happens  to  stray  into  a  village  or  town,  lie  occasions  as 
much  disturbance  as  if  the  black  gentleman  with  his  cloven 
foot  appeared  ;  he  frightens  children  from  their  play,  and 
draws  the  attention  of  the  older  people,  till  the  police  get 
hold  of  him,  and  make  him  again  invisible.  In  some  of  the 
provinces  of  the  Rhine,  a  Gipsy  is  a  very  common  sight. 
Some  years  ago,  there  were  such  numbers  of  them  in  the 
Duchy  of  Wurtemberg,  that  they  were  seen  lying  about  every¬ 
where  ;  but  the  government  ordered  departments  of  soldiers 
to  drive  them  from  their  holes  and  lurking-places  throughout 
the  country,  and  then  transported  the  congregated  swarm, 
in  the  same  manner  as  they  were  treated  by  the  Duke  of 
Deuxponts.  In  France,  before  the  Revolution,  there  were 


76 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


but  few  Gipsies,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  every  Gipsy 
who  could  be  apprehended  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the 
police.”* 

As  regards  the  Gipsies  of  Spain,  Dr.  Bright  remarks  : 
That  the  disposition  of  the  Gitano  is  more  inclined  to  a 
fixed  residence  titan  that  of  the  Gipsy  of  other  countries,  is 
beyond  doubt.  The  generality  are  the  settled  inhabitants  of 
considerable  towns,  and,  although  the  occupations  of  some 
necessarily  lead  them  to  a  more  vagrant  life,  the  proportion 
is  small  who  do  not  consider  some  hovel  in  a  suburb  as  a 
home.  ‘  Money  is  in  the  city — not  in  the  country,’  is  a  saying 
frequently  in  their  mouths.  In  the  vilest  quarters  of  every 
large  town  of  the  southern  provinces,  there  are  Gitanos  liv¬ 
ing  together,  sometimes  occupying  whole  barriers.  But 
Seville  is,  perhaps,  the  spot  in  which  the  largest  proportion 
is  found.  Their  principal  occupation  is  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  articles  of  iron.  Their  quarters  may  always  be 
traced  by  the  ring  of  the  hammer  and  anvil,  and  many  amass 
considerable  wealth.  An  inferior  class  have  the  exclusive 
trade  in  second-hand  articles,  which  they  sell  at  the  doors 
of  their  dwellings,  or  at  benches  at  the  entrance  of  towns,  or 
by  the  sides  of  frequented  walks.  A  still  inferior  order 
wander  about,  mending  pots,  and  selling  tongs  and  other 
trifling  articles.  In  Cadiz,  they  monopolize  the  trade  of 
butchering,  and  frequently  amass  wealth.  Others,  again, 
exclusively  fill  the  office  of  Matador  of  the  Bull  Plaza,  while 
the  Tereros  are  for  the  most  part  of  the  same  race.  Others 
are  employed  as  dressers  of  mules  and  asses  ;  some  as  figure- 
dancers,  and  many  as  performers  in  the  theatre.  Some  gain 
a  livelihood  by  their  musical  talents.  Dancing,  singing, 
music  and  fortune-telling  are  the  only  objects  of  general 
pursuit  for  the  females.  Sometimes  they  dance  in  the  infe¬ 
rior  theatres;  and  sing  and  dance  in  the  streets.  Palmistry 
is  one  of  their  most  productive  avocations.  In  Seville,  a 
few  make  and  sell  an  inferior  kind  of  mat.  Besides  these, 
there  is  a  class  of  Gipsies  in  Spain  who  lead  a  vagrant  life 

*  Grcllmann. — I  would  suppose  that  these  severe  edicts  of  the  French 
would  drive  the  Hipsies  to  adopt  the  costume  and  manners  of  the  other 
inhabitants.  In  this  way  they  would  disappear  from  the  public  eye.  The 
officers  of  justice  would  of  course  direct  their  attention  to  what  would  be 
understood  to  be  Gipsies— that  is  tented  Gipsies,  or  those  who  professed  the 
ways  of  Gipsies,  such  as  fortune  telling.  1  have  met  with  a  French  Gipsy 
in  the  streets  of  New  York,  engaged  as  a  dealer  in  candy. — Ed. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


77 


throughout — residing  chiefly  in  the  woods  and  mountains, 
and  known  as  mountaineers.  These  rarely  visit  towns,  and 
live  by  fraud  and  pillage.  There  are  also  others  who  wan¬ 
der  about  the  country — such  as  tinkers,  dancers,  singers,  and 
jobbers  in  asses  and  mules. 

Bishop  Pocoke,  prior  to  1745,  mentions  having  met  with 
Gipsies  in  the  northern  part  of  Syria,  where  he  found  them 
in  great  numbers,  passing  for  Mahommedans,  living  in  tents 
or  caravans,  dealing  in  milch  cows,  when  near  towns,  manu¬ 
facturing  coarse  carpets,  and  having  a  much  better  character 
than  their  relations  in  Hungary  or  England.  By  the  census 
of  the  Crimea,  in  1793,  the  population  was  set  down  at 
157,125,  of  which  3,225  were  Gipsies.  Bishop  Heber  states 
that  the  Persian  Gipsies  are  of  much  better  caste,  and  much 
richer  than  those  of  India,  Russia  or  England.  In  India,  he 
says,  the  Gipsies  are  the  same  tall,  fine-limbed,  bony,  slender 
people,  with  the  same  large,  black,  brilliant  eyes,  lowering 
forehead,  and  long  hair,  curled  at  the  extremities,  which  are 
to  be  met  with  on  a  common  in  England.  He  mentions,  in 
his  journal  of  travels  through  Bengal,  having  met  with  a 
Gipsy  camp  on  the  Ganges.  The  women  and  children  fol¬ 
lowed  him,  begging,  and  had  no  clothes  on  them,  except  a 
coarse  kind  of  veil,  thrown  back  from  the  shoulders,  and  a 
ragged  cloth,  wrapped  round  their  waists,  like  a  petticoat. 
One  of  the  women  was  very  pretty,  and  the  forms  of  all  the 
three  were  such  as  a  sculptor  would  have  been  glad  to  take 
as  his  models. 

Besides  those  in  Europe,  it  is  stated  by  Grellmann  that 
the  Gipsies  are  also  scattered  over  Asia,  and  arc  to  be  found 
in  the  centre  of  Africa.  In  Europe  alone,  he  supposes  (in 
1782),  their  number  will  amount  to  between  seven  and  eight 
hundred  thousand.  So  numerous  did  they  become  in  France, 
that  the  king,  in  1545,  sixteen  years  before  they  were  ex¬ 
pelled  from  that  kingdom,  entertained  an  idea  of  embodying 
four  thousand  of  them,  to  act  as  pioneers  in  taking  Boulogne, 
then  in  possession  of  England.  It  is  impossible  to  ascertain, 
at  the  present  day,  how  many  Gipsies  might  be  even  in  a 
parish  ;  but,  taking  in  the  whole  world,  there  must  be  an 
immense  number  in  existence. 

About  the  time  the  Gipsies  first  appeared  in  Europe, 'their 
chiefs,  under  the  titles  of  dukes,  earls,  lords,  counts,  and 
knights  of  Little  Egypt,  rode  up  and  down  the  country  on 


78 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


horseback,  dressed  in  gay  apparel,  and  attended  by  a  train 
of  ragged  and  miserable  inferiors,  having,  also,  hawks  and 
hounds  in  their  retinue.  It  appears  to  me,  that  the  excessive 
vanity  of  these  chiefs  had  induced  them,  in  imitation  of  the 
customs  of  civilized  society,  to  assume  these  high-sounding 
European  titles  of  honour.  I  have  not  observed,  on  record, 
any  form  of  government,  laws  or  customs,  by  which  the  in¬ 
ternal  affairs  of  the  tribe,  on  the  Continent,  were  regulated. 
On  tlicse  important  points,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  all  the  au¬ 
thors,  with  the  exception  of  Grellmann,  who  have  written 
on  the  Gipsies,  are  silent.  Grellmann  says  of  the  Hungarian 
Gipsies  :  “  They  still  continue  the  custom  among  themselves 
of  dignifying  certain  persons,  whom  they  make  heads  over 
them,  and  call  by  the  exalted  Sclavonian  title  of  Waywode. 
To  choose  their  Waywode,  the  Gipsies  take  the  opportunity, 
when  a  great  number  of  them  are  assembled  in  one  place, 
commonly  in  the  open  field.  The  elected  person  is  lifted  up 
three  times,  amidst  the  loudest  acclamation,  and  confirmed 
in  his  dignity  by  presents.  His  wife  undergoes  the  same 
ceremony.  When  this  solemnity  is  performed,  they  separate 
with  great  conceit,  imagining  themselves  people  of  more 
consequence  than  electors  returning  from  the  choice  of  an 
emperor.  Every  one  who  is  of  a  family  descended  from  a 
former  Waywode  is  eligible  ;  but  those  who  are  best 
clothed,  not  very  poor,  of  large  stature,  and  about  the  middle 
age,  have  generally  the  preference.  The  particular  distin¬ 
guishing  mark  of  dignity  is  a  large  whip,  hanging  over  the 
shoulder.  His  outward  deportment,  his  walk  and  air,  also 
plainly  show  his  head  to  be  filled  with  notions  of  authority.” 
According  to  the  same  authority,  the  Waywode  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  in  Courland  is  distinguished  from  the  principals  of  the 
hordes  in  other  countries,  being  not  only  much  respected  by 
his  own  people,  but  even  by  the  Courland  nobility.  He  is 
esteemed  a  man  of  high  rank,  and  is  frequently  to  be  met 
with  at  entertainments,  and  card  parties,  in  the  first  families, 
where  he  is  always  a  welcome  guest.  His  dress  is  uncom¬ 
monly  rich,  in  comparison  with  others  of  his  tribe  ;  generally 
silk  in  summer,  and  constantly  velvet  in  winter. 

As  a  specimen  of  the  manners  and  ferocious  disposition  of 
the  German  Gipsies,  so  late  as  the  year  1726,1  shall  here 
transcribe  a  few  extracts  from  an  article  published  in  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine,  for  January,  1818.  This  interesting  arti- 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


79 


cle  is  partly  an  abridged  translation,  or  rather  the  substance, 
of  a  German  work  on  the  Gipsies,  entitled  “  A  Circumstan¬ 
tial  Account  of  the  Famous  Egyptian  Band  of  Thieves,  and 
Bobbers,  and  Murderers,  whose  Leaders  were  executed  at 
Giessen,  by  Cord,  and  Sword,  and  Wheel,  on  the  14th  and 
]5tli  November,  1726,  Ac.”  It  is  edited  by  Dr.  John  Ben¬ 
jamin  Wiessenburch,  an  assessor  of  the  criminal  tribunal  by 
which  these  malefactors  were  condemned,  and  published  at 
Frankfort  and  Leipsic,  in  the  year  1727.  The  translator  of 
this  work  is  Sir  Walter  Scott,  who  obligingly  offered  me  the 
use  of  his  “  scraps”  on  this  subject.  The  following  are  the 
details  in  his  own  words  . 

“  A  curious  preliminary  dissertation  records  some  facts 
respecting  the  German  Gipsies,  which  are  not  uninteresting. 

“From  the  authorities  collected  by  Wiessenburch,  it  ap¬ 
pears  that  these  wanderers  first  appeared  in  Germany  dur¬ 
ing  the  reign  of  Sigismund.  The  exact  year  has  been 
disputed  ;  but  it  is  generally  placed  betwixt  1416  and  1420. 
They  appeared  in  various  bands,  under  chiefs,  to  whom 
they  acknowledged  obedience,  and  who  assumed  the  titles 
of  dukes  and  carls.  These  leaders  originally  affected  a  cer¬ 
tain  degree  of  consequence,  travelling  well  equipped,  and  on 
horseback,  and  bringing  hawks  and  hounds  in  their  retinue. 
Like  John  Faw,  ‘  Lord  of  Little  Egypt,’  they  sometimes 
succeeded  in  imposing  upon  the  Germans  the  belief  in  their 
very  apocryphal  dignity,  which  they  assumed  during  their 
lives,  and  recorded  upon  their  tombs,  as  appears  from  three 
epitaphs,  quoted  by  Dr.  Wiessenburch.  One  is  in  a  convent 
at  Steinbach,  and  records  that  on  St.  Sebastians’  eve,  1445, 

‘  died  the  Lord  Panncl,  Duke  of  Little  Egypt,  and  Baron  of 
Ilirschhorn,  in  the  same  land.’  A  monumental  inscription 
at  Bautmer,  records  the  death  of  the  ‘  Noble  Earl  Peter,  of 
Lesser  Egypt,  in  1453  ;’  and  a  third,  at  Pferz,  as  late  as 
1498,  announces  the  death  of  the  ‘high-born,  Lord  John, 
Earl  of  Little  Egypt,  to  whose  soul  God  be  gracious  and 
merciful.’ 

“In  describing  the  state  of  the  German  Gipsies,  in  1726, 
the  author  whom  we  are  quoting  gives  the  leading  features 
proper  to  those  in  other  countries.  Their  disposition  to 
wandering,  to  idleness,  to  theft,  to  polygamy,  or  rather  pro¬ 
miscuous  licence,  are  all  commemorated  ;  nor  are  the  wo¬ 
men’s  pretentions  to  fortune-telling,  and  their  practice  of 


80 


A  ms  TORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


stealing  children,  omitted.  Instead  of  travelling  in  very 
large  bands,  as  at  their  first  arrival,  they  are  described  as 
forming  small  parties,  in  which  the  females  are  far  more 
numerous  than  the  men,  and  which  are  each  under  command 
of  a  leader,  chosen  rather  from  reputation  than  by  right  of 
birth.  The  men,  unless  when  engaged  in  robbery  or  theft, 
lead  a  life  of  absolute  idleness,  and  are  supported  by  what 
the  women  can  procure  by  begging,  stealing  or  telling  for¬ 
tunes.  These  resources  are  so  scanty  that  they  often  suffer 
the  most  severe  extremities  of  hunger  and  cold.  Some  of 
the  Gipsies  executed  at  Giessen  pretended  that  they  had 
not  eaten  a  morsel  of  bread  for  four  days  before  they  were 
apprehended  ;  yet  are  they  so  much  attached  to  freedom, 
and  licence  of  this  wandering  life,  that,  notwithstanding  its 
miseries,  it  lias  not  only  been  found  impossible  to  reclaim 
the  native  Gipsies,  who  claim  it  by  inheritance,  but  even 
those  who,  not  born  in  that  state,  have  associated  themselves 
with  their  bands,  and  become  so  wedded  to  it,  as  to  prefer 
it  to  all  others.* 

“As  an  exception,  Wiesscnburch  mentions  some  gangs, 
where  the  men,  as  in  Scotland,  exercise  the  profession  of 
travelling  smiths,  or  tinkers,  or  deal  in  pottery,  or  practise 
as  musicians.  Finally,  he  notices  that  in  Hungary  the 
gangs  assumed  their  names  from  the  countries  which  they 
chiefly  traversed,  as  the  band  of  Upper  Saxony,  of  Branden¬ 
burg,  and  so  forth.  They  resented,  to  extremity,  any  attempt 
on  the  part  of  other  Gipsies  to  intrude  on  their  province  ; 
and  such  interference  often  led  to  battles,  in  which  they  shot 
each  other  with  as  little  remorse  as  they  would  have  done 
to  dogs.f  By  these  acts  of  cruelty  to  each  other,  they  be¬ 
came  gradually  familiarized  with  blood,  as  well  as  with 
arms,  to  which  another  cause  contributed,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  18th  century. 

“In  former  times,  these  outcasts  were  not  permitted  to 


*  The  natives  here  alluded  to  were  evidently  Germans,  married  to  Gipsy 
women,  or  Germans  brought  up  from  infancy  with  the  Gipsies,  or  mixed 
Gipsies,  taking  after  Germans  in  point  of  appearance. —  Ed. 

f  This  is  the  only  continental  writer,  that  I  am  aware  of,  who  mentions 
the  circumstance  of  the  Gipsies  having  districts  to  themselves,  from  which 
others  of  their  race  were  excluded.  This  author  also  speaks  of  the  German 
Gipsies  stealing  children.  John  Bunyan  admits  the  same  practice  in  Eng¬ 
land,  when  he  compares  his  feelings,  as  a  sinner,  to  those  of  a  child  carried 
off  by  Gipsies.  He  gives  the  Gipsy  women  credit  for  this  practice. — Ed. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


81 


bear  arms  in  the  service  of  any  Christian  power,  bnt  the 
long  wars  of  Louis  XIV  had  abolished  this  point  of  deli¬ 
cacy  ;  and  both  in  the  French  army,  and  those  of  the  con¬ 
federates,  the  stoutest  and  boldest  of  the  Gipsies  werg- 
occasionally  enlisted,  by  choice  or  compulsion.  These  men 
generally  tired  soon  of  the  rigour  of  military  discipline,  and 
escaping  from  their  regiments,  on  the  first  opportunity,  went 
back  to  their  forests,  with  some  knowledge  of  arms,  and 
habits  bolder  and  more  ferocious  than  those  of  their  prede¬ 
cessors.  Such  deserters  soon  become  leaders  among  the 
tribes,  whose  enterprises  became,  in  proportion,  more  auda¬ 
cious  and  desperate. 

“  In  Germany,  as  in  most  other  kingdoms  of  Europe, 
severe  laws  had  been  directed  against  this  vagabond  people, 
and  the  Landgraves  of  Hesse  had  not  been  behind-hand  in 
such  denunciations.  They  were,  on  their  arrest,  branded 
as  vagabonds,  punished  with  stripes,  and  banished  from  the 
circle  ;  and,  in  case  of  their  return,  were  put  to  death  Avith- 
ou t  mercy.  These  measures  only  served  to  make  them  des¬ 
perate.  Their  bands  became  more  strong  and  more  open 
in  their  depredations.  They  often  marched  as  strong  as 
fifty  or  a  hundred  armed  men  ;  bade  defiance  to  the  ordi¬ 
nary  police,  and  plundered  the  villages  in  open  day ; 
wounded  and  slew  the  peasants,  who  endeavoured  to  pro¬ 
tect  their  property  ;  and  skirmished,  in  some  instances  suc¬ 
cessfully,  with  parties  of  soldiers  and  militia,  dispatched 
against  them.  Their  chiefs,  on  these  occasions,  were  John 
La  Fortune,  a  determined  villain,  otherwise  named  Ilcm- 
perla  ;  another  called  the  Great  Gallant  ;  his  brother, 
Antony  Alexander,  called  the  Little  Gallant ;  and  others, 
entitled  Lorries,  Lamport,  Gabriel,  &c.  Their  ferocity 
may  be  judged  of  from  the  following  instances  : 

“  On  the  10th  October,  1724,  a  land-lieutenant,  or  officer 
of  police,  named  Emerander,  set  off  with  two  assistants  to 
disperse  a  band  of  Gipsies  who  had  appeared  near  Hirzen- 
hayn,  in  the  territory  of  Stolberg.  He  seized  on  two  or 
three  stragglers  whom  he  found  in  the  village,  and  whom, 
females  as  well  as  males,  he  seems  to  have  treated  with 
much  severity.  Some,  however,  escaped  to  a  large  band 
which  lay  in  an  adjacent  forest,  who,  under  command  of  the 
Great  Gallant,  Hcmperla,  Antony  Alexander,  and  others, 
immediately  put  themselves  in  motion  to  rescue  their  com- 
4* 


82 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


rades,  and  avenge  themselves  of  Emerander.  The  land- 
lieutenant  had  the  courage  to  ride  out  to  meet  them,  with 
his  two  attendants,  at  the  passage  of  a  bridge,  where  he 
fired  his  pistol  at  the  advancing  gang,  and  called  out 
‘  charge,’  as  if  he  had  been  at  the  head  of  a  party  of  cavalry. 
The  Gipsies,  however,  aware,  from  the  report  of  the  fugi¬ 
tives,  how  weakly  the  officer  was  accompanied,  continued  to 
advance  to  the  end  of  the  bridge,  and  ten  or  twelve,  drop¬ 
ping  each  on  one  knee,  gave  fire  on  Emerander,  who  was 
then  obliged  to  turn  his  horse  and  ride  off,  leaving  his  two 
assistants  to  the  mercy  of  the  banditti.  One  of  these  men, 
called  Hempel,  was  instantly  beaten  down,  and  suffered, 
especially  at  the  hands  of  the  Gipsy  women,  much  cruel 
and  abominable  outrage.  After  stripping  him  of  every  rag 
of  his  clothes,  they  were  about  to  murder  the  wretch  out¬ 
right  ;  but  at  the  earnest  instance  of  the  landlord  of  the 
inn,  they  contented  themselves  with  beating  him  dreadfully, 
and  imposing  on  him  an  oath  that  he  never  more  would  per¬ 
secute  any  Gipsy,  or  save  any  fleshrrvan,  (dealer  in  human 
flesh,)  for  so  they  called  the  officers  of  justice  or  police.* 

“The  other  assistant  of  Emerander  made  his  escape. 
But  the  principal  was  not  so  fortunate.  When  the  Gipsies 
had  wrought  their  wicked  pleasure  on  Hempel,  they  com¬ 
pelled  the  landlord  of  the  little  inn  to  bring  them  a  flagon 
of  brandy,  in  which  they  mingled  a  charge  of  gunpowder 
and  three  pinches  of  salt ;  and  each,  partaking  of  this  sin¬ 
gular  beverage,  took  a  solemn  oath  that  they  would  stand 
by  each  other  until  they  had  cut  thongs,  as  they  expressed 
it,  out  of  the  fleshman’s  hide.  The  Great  Gallant  at  the 
same  time  distributed  to  them,  out  of  a  little  box,  billets, 
which  each  was  directed  to  swallow,  and  which  were  sup¬ 
posed  to  render  them  invulnerable. 

“  Thus  inflamed  and  encouraged,  the  whole  route,  amount¬ 
ing  to  fifty  well  armed  men,  besides  women  armed  with 
clubs  and  axes,  set  off  with  horrid  screams  to  a  neighbour- 

*  Great  allowance  ought  to  he  made  for  the  conduct  of  these  Gipsies. 
Even  at  the  present  day,  a  Gipsy,  in  many  parts  of  Germany,  is  not 
allowed  to  enter  a  town  ;  nor  will  the  inhabitants  permit  him  to  live  in  the 
street  in  which  they  dwell.  He  has  therefore  to  go  somewhere,  and  live 
in  some  way  or  other.  In  speaking  of  the  Gipsies,  people  never  lake 
these  circumstances  into  account.  The  Gipsies  alluded  to  in  the  text 
seem  to  have  been  very  cruelly  treated,  in  the  first  place,  by  the  author¬ 
ities. — Er>. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


83 


ing  hamlet,  called  Glazhutte,  in  which  the  object  of  their 
resentment  sought  refuge.  They  took  military  possession 
of  the  streets,  posting  sentinels  to  prevent  interruption  or 
attack  from  the  alarmed  inhabitants.  Their  leaders  then 
presented  themselves  before  the  inn,  and  demanded  that 
Emerander  should  be  delivered  up  to  them.  When  the  inn¬ 
keeper  endeavoured  to  elude  their  demand,  they  forced  their 
way  into  the  house,  and  finding  the  unhappy  object  of  pur¬ 
suit  concealed  in  a  garret,  Hemperla  and  others  fired  their 
muskets  at  him,  then  tore  his  clothes  from  his  body,  and  pre¬ 
cipitated  him  down  the  staircase,  where  he  was  dispatched 
with  many  wounds. 

“  Meanwhile,  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  began  to  take 
to  arms  ;  and  one  of  them  attempted  to  ring  the  alarm-bell, 
but  was  prevented  by  an  armed  Gipsy,  stationed  for  that 
purpose.  At  length  their  bloody  work  being  ended,  the 
Gipsies  assembled  and  retreated  out  of  the  town,  with  shouts 
of  triumph,  exclaiming  that  the  fleshman  was  slain,  display¬ 
ing  their  spoils  and  hands  stained  with  blood,  and  headed 
by  the  Great  Gallant,  riding  on  the  horse  of  the  murdered 
officer. 

“  I  shall  select  from  the  volume  another  instance  of  this 
people’s  cruelty  still  more  detestable,  since  even  vengeance 
or  hostility  could  not  be  alleged  for  its  stimulating  cause,  as 
in  the  foregoing  narrative.  A  country  clergyman,  named 
Heinsius,  the  pastor  of  a  village  called  Dorsdorff,  who  had 
the  misfortune  to  be  accounted  a  man  of  some  wealth,  was 
the  subject  of  this  tragedy. 

“  Hemperla,  already  mentioned,  with  a  band  of  ten  Gipsies, 
and  a  villain  named  Essper  George,  wdio  had  joined  himself 
with  them,  though  not  of  their  nation  by  birth,  beset  the 
house  of  the  unfortunate  minister,  with  a  resolution  to  break 
in  and  possess  themselves  of  his  money  ;  and  if  interrupted 
by  the  peasants,  to  fire  upon  them,  and  repel  force  by  force. 
With  this  desperate  intention,  they  surrounded  the  parson¬ 
age-house  at  midnight ;  and  their  leader,  Hemperla,  having 
cut  a  hole  through  the  coverof  the  sink  or  gutter, endeavoured 
to  creep  into  the  house  through  that  passage,  holding  in  his 
hand  a  lighted  torch  made  of  straw.  The  daughter  of  the 
parson  chanced,  however,  to  be  up,  and  in  the  kitchen,  at 
this  late  hour,  by  which  fortunate  circumstance  she  escaped 
the  fate  of  her  father  and  mother.  When  the  Gipsy  saw 


84 


A  HIS  TOUT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


there  was  a  person  in  the  kitchen,  he  drew  himself  back  out 
of  the  gutter,  and  ordered  his  gang  to  force  the  door,  re¬ 
garding  the  noise  which  accompanied  this  violence  as  little 
as  if  tlie  place  had  been  situated  in  a  wilderness,  instead  of 
a  populous  hamlet.  Others  of  the  gang  were  posted  at  the 
windows  of  the  house,  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  inmates. 
Nevertheless,  the  young  woman,  already  mentioned,  let  her¬ 
self  down  from  a  window  which  had  escaped  their  notice, 
and  ran  to  seek  assistance  for  her  parents. 

“  In  the  meanwhile  the  Gipsies  had  burst  open  the  out¬ 
ward  door  of  the  house,  with  a  beam  of  wood  which  chanced 
to  be  lying  in  the  court-yard.  They  next  forced  the  door 
of  the  sitting  apartment,  and  were  met  by  the  poor  clergy¬ 
man,  who  prayed  them  at  least  to  spare  his  life  and  that  of 
his  wife.  But  he  spoke  to  men  who  knew  no  mercy  ;  Hemp- 
erla  struck  him  on  the  breast  with  a  torch  ;  and  receiving 
the  blow  as  a  signal  for  death,  the  poor  man  staggered  back 
to  the  table,  and  sinking  in  a  chair,  leaned  his  head  on  his 
hand,  and  expected  the  mortal  blow.  In  this  posture 
Hemperla  shot  him  dead  with  a  pistol.  The  wife  of  the 
clergyman  endeavoured  to  fly,  on  witnessing  the  murder  of 
her  husband,  but  was  dragged  back,  and  slain  by  a  pistol- 
shot,  fired  either  by  Essper  George,  or  by  a  Gipsy  called 
Christian.  By  a  crime  so  dreadful  those  murderers  only 
gained  four  silver  cups,  fourteen  silver  spoons,  some  trifling 
articles  of  apparel,  and  about  twenty-two  florins  in  money. 
They  might  have  made  more  important  booty,  but  the  sen¬ 
tinel,  whom  they  left  on  the  outside,  now  intimated  to  them 
that  the  hamlet  was  alarmed,  and  that  it  was  time  to  retire, 
which  they  did  accordingly,  undisturbed  and  in  safety. 

“  The  Gipsies  committed  many  enormities  similar  to  those 
above  detailed,  and  arrived  at  such  a  pitch  of  audacity  as 
even  to  threaten  the  person  of  the  Landgrave  himself ;  an 
enormity  at  which  Dr.  Wiessenburch,  who  never  introduces 
the  name  or  titles  of  that  prince  without  printing  them  in 
letters  of  at  least  an  inch  long,  expresses  becoming  horror. 
This  was  too  much  to  be  endured.  Strong  detachments  of 
troops  and  militia  scoured  the  country  in  different  directions, 
and  searched  the  woods  and  caverns  which  served  the  ban¬ 
ditti  for  places  of  retreat.  These  measures  were  for  some 
time  attended  with  little  effect.  The  Gipsies  had  the  advan¬ 
tages  of  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  country,  and  excellent 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


85 


intelligence.  They  baffled  the  efforts  of  the  officers  detached 
against  them,  and,  on  one  or  two  occasions,  even  engaged 
them  with  advantage.  And  when  some  females,  unable  to 
follow  the  retreat  of  the  men,  were  made  prisoners  on  such 
an  occasion,  the  leaders  caused  it  to  be  intimated  to  the 
authorities  at  Giessen  that  if  their  women  were  not  set  at 
liberty,  they  would  murder  and  rob  on  the  high  roads,  and 
plunder  and  burn  the  country.  This  state  of  warfare  lasted 
from  1718  until  1726,  during  which  period  the  subjects  of 
the  Landgrave  suffered  the  utmost  hardships,  as  no  man  was 
secure  against  nocturnal  surprise  of  his  property  and  person. 

“At  length,  in  the  end  of  1725,  a  heavy  and  continued 
storm  of  snow  compelled  the  Gipsy  hordes  to  abandon  the 
woods  which  had  long  served  them  as  a  refuge,  and  to  ap¬ 
proach  more  near  to  the  dwellings  of  men.  As  their  move¬ 
ments  could  be  traced  and  observed,  the  land-lieutenant, 
Krocker,  who  had  been  an  assistant  to  the  murdered  Emer- 
ander,  received  intelligence  of  a  band  of  Gipsies  having 
appeared  in  the  district  of  Sohnsassenheim,  at  a  village 
called  Fauerbach.  Being  aided  by  a  party  of  soldiers  and 
volunteers,  he  had  the  luck  to  secure  the  whole  gang,  being 
twelve  men  and  women.  Among  these  was  the  notorious 
Hcmpcrla,  who  was  dragged  by  the  heels  from  an  oven  in 
which  he  was  attempting  to  conceal  himself.  Others  were 
taken  in  the  same  manner,  and  imprisoned  at  Giessen,  with 
a  view  to  their  trial. 

“Numerous  acts  of  theft,  and  robbery,  and  murder  were 
laid  to  the  charge  of  these  unfortunate  wretches  ;  and,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  existing  laws  of  the  empire,  they  were  inter¬ 
rogated  under  torture.  They  were  first  tormented  by  means 
of  thumb-screws,  which  they  did  not  seem  greatly  to  regard  ; 
the  Spanish  boots,  or  1  leg-vices/  were  next  applied,  and 
seldom  failed  to  extort  confession.  Hemperla  alone  set 
both  means  at  defiance,  which  induced  the  judges  to  believe 
he  was  possessed  of  some  spell  against  these  agonies. 
Having  in  vain  searched  his  body  for  the  supposed  charm, 
they  caused  his  hair  to  be  cut  off ;  on  which  lie  himself  ob¬ 
served  that,  had  they  not  done  so,  he  could  have  stood  the 
torture  for  some  time  longer.  As  it  was,  his  resolution  gave 
way,  and  he  made,  under  the  second  application  of  the  Span¬ 
ish  boots,  a  full  confession,  not  only  of  the  murders  of  winch 
lie  was  accused,  but  of  various  other  crimes.  While  he  was 


86 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


in  this  agony,  the  judges  had  the  cruelty  to  introduce  his 
mother,  a  noted  Gipsy  woman,  called  the  crone,  into  the  tor¬ 
ture-chamber  ;  who  shrieked  fearfully,  and  tore  her  face  with 
her  nails,  on  perceiving  the  condition  of  her  son,  and  still 
more  on  hearing  him  acknowledge  his  guilt. 

“  Evidence  of  the  guilt  of  the  other  prisoners  was  also 
obtained  from  their  confessions,  with  or  without  torture, 
and  from  the  testimony  of  witnesses  examined  by  the  fiscal. 
Sentence  was  finally  passed  on  them,  condemning  four  Gip¬ 
sies,  among  whom  were  Hempcrla  and  the  Little  Gallant,  to 
be  broken  on  the  wheel,  nine  others  to  be  hanged,  and  thir¬ 
teen,  of  whom  the  greater  part  were  women,  to  be  beheaded. 
They  underwent  their  doom  with  great  firmness,  upon  the 
14th  and  15th  November,  1726. 

“  The  volume  contains . some  rude  prints,  repre¬ 

senting  the  murders  committed  by  the  Gipsies,  and  the  man¬ 
ner  of  their  execution.  There  are  also  two  prints  repre¬ 
senting  the  portraits  of  the  principal  criminals,  in  which, 
though  the  execution  be  indifferent,  the  Gipsy  features  may 
be  clearly  traced.” 

Leaving  this  view  of  the  character  of  the  continental 
Gipsies,  we  may  take  the  following  as  illustrative  of  one  of 
its  brighter  aspects.  So  late  as  the  time  of  the  celebrated 
Baron  Trenck,  it  would  appear  that  Germany  was  still  in¬ 
fested  with  prodigiously  large  bands  of  Gipsies.  In  a 
forest  near  Ginnen,  to  which  lie  had  fled,  to  conceal  himself 
from  the  pursuit  of  his  persecutors,  the  Baron  says  :  “  Here 
we  fell  in  with  a  gang  of  Gipsies,  (or  rather  banditti,) 
amounting  to  four  hundred  men,  who  dragged  me  to  their 
camp.  They  were  mostly  French  and  Prussian  deserters, 
and,  thinking  me  their  equal,  would  force  me  to  become  one 
of  their  band.  But  venturing  to  tell  my  story  to  their 
leader,  he  presented  me  with  a  crown,  gave  us  a  small  por¬ 
tion  of  bread  and  meat,  and  suffered  us  to  depart  in  peace, 
after  having  been  four-and-twenty  hours  in  their  company.”* 

I  shall  conclude  the  notices  of  the  continental  Gipsies  by 
some  extracts  from  an  article  published  in  a  French  periodical 
work,  for  September,  1802,  on  the  Gipsies  of  the  Pyrenees  ; 
who  resemble,  in  many  points,  the  inferior  class  of  our 
Scottish  Tinklers,  about  the  beginning  of  the  French  war, 
more,  perhaps,  than  those  of  any  other  country  in  Europe. 

*  Life  of  Baron  Trenck,  translated  by  Thomas  Holcroft,  Vol.  I.,  page  138. 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


87 


“  There  exists,  in  the  department  of  the  Eastern  Pyrenees, 
a  people  distinct  from  the  rest  of  the  inhabitants,  of  a  foreign 
origin,  and  without  any  settled  habits.  It  seems  to  have 
fixed  its  residence  there  fora  considerable  time.  It  changes 
its  situation,  multiplies  there,  and  never  connects  itself  by 
marriage  with  the  other  inhabitants.  This  people  are  called 
Gitanos,  a  Spanish  word  which  signifies  Egyptians.  There 
are  many  Gitanos  in  Catalonia,  who  have  similar  habits  to 
the  above-mentioned,  but  who  are  very  strictly  watched. 
They  have  all  the  vices  of  those  Egyptians,  or  Bohemians, 
who  formerly  used  to  wander  over  the  world,  telling  for¬ 
tunes,  and  living  at  the  expense  of  superstition  and  credulity. 
These  Gitanos,  less  idle  and  less  wanderers  than  their  prede¬ 
cessors,  are  afraid  of  publicly  professing  the  art  of  fortune¬ 
tellers  ;  but  their  manner  of  life  is  scarcely  different. 

“  They  scatter  themselves  among  villages,  and  lonesome 
farms,  where  they  steal  fruit,  poultry,  and  often  even  cattle  ; 
in  short,  everything  that  is  portable.  They  are  almost  al¬ 
ways  abroad,  incessantly  watching  an  opportunity  to  practise 
their  thievery  ;  they  hide  themselves  with  much  dexterity 
from  the  search  of  the  police.  Their  women,  in  particular, 
have  an  uncommon  dexterity  in  pilfering.  When  they  enter 
a  shop,  they  are  watched  with  the  utmost  care  ;  but  with 
every  precaution  they  are  not  free  from  their  rapines.  They 
excel,  above  all,  in  hiding  the  pieces  of  silver  which  are 
given  in  exchange  for  gold,  which  they  never  fail  to  offer  in 
payment,  and  they  are  so  well  hidden  that  they  are  often 
obliged  to  be  undressed  before  restitution  can  be  obtained. 

‘‘The  Gitanos  affect,  externally, a  great  attachment  to  the 
Catholic  religion  ;  and  if  one  was  to  judge  from  the  number 
of  reliques  they  carry  about  witli  them,  one  would  believe 
them  exceedingly  devout ;  but  all  who  have  well  observed 
them  assure  us  they  areas  ignorant  as  hypocritical,  and  that 
they  practise  secretly  a  religion  of  their  own.  It  is  not  rare 
to  see  their  women,  who  have  been  lately  brought  to  bed, 
have  their  children  baptized  several  times,  in  different  places, 
in  order  to  obtain  money  from  persons  at  their  ease,  whom 
they  choose  for  godfathers.  Everything  announces  among 
them  that  moral  degradation  which  must  necessarily  attach 
to  a  miserable,  insulated  caste,  as  strangers  to  society,  which 
only  suffers  it  through  an  excess  of  contempt. 

“  The  Gitanos  are  disgustingly  filthy,  and  almost  all  co- 


88 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


vered  with  rags.  They  have  neither  tables,  chairs,  nor  beds, 
but  sit  and  eat  on  the  ground.  They  are  crowded  in  huts, 
pell-mell,  in  straw  ;  and  their  neglect  of  the  decorum  of  so¬ 
ciety,  so  dangerous  to  morals,  must  have  the  most  melancholy 
consequences  on  wretched  vagabonds,  abandoned  to  them¬ 
selves.  They  consequently  are  accused  of  giving  themselves 
up  to  every  disorder  of  the  most  infamous  debauchery,  and 
to  respect  neither  the  ties  of  blood  nor  the  protecting  laws 
of  the  virtues  of  families. 

l:  They  feed  on  rotten  poultry  and  fish,  dogs  and  stinking 
cats,  which  they  seek  for  with  avidity  ;  and  when  this  re¬ 
source  fails  them,  they  live  on  the  entrails  of  animals,  or 
other  aliments  of  the  lowest  price.  They  leave  their  meat 
but  a  very  few  minutes  on  the  fire,  and  the  place  where  they 
cook  it  exhales  an  infectious  smell. 

“  They  speak  the  Catalonian  dialect,  but  they  have,  be¬ 
sides,  a  language  to  themselves,  unintelligible  to  the  natives 
of  the  country,  from  whom  they  are  very  careful  to  hide  the 
knowledge  of  it. 

“  The  Gitanos  are  tanned  like  the  mulattoes,  of  a  size 
above  mediocrity,  well  formed,  active,  robust,  supporting  all 
the  changes  of  seasons,  and  sleeping  in  the  open  fields,  when¬ 
ever  their  interest  requires  it.  Their  features  are  irregular, 
and  show  them  to  belong  to  a  transplanted  race.  They 
have  the  mouth  very  wide,  thick  lips,  and  high  cheek-bones. 

“  As  the  distrust  they  inspire  causes  them  to  be  carefully 
watched,  it  is  not  always  possible  for  them  to  live  by  steal¬ 
ing  :  they  then  have  recourse  to  industry,  and  a  trifling  trade, 
which  seems  to  have  been  abandoned  to  them  ;  they  show 
animals,  and  attend  the  fairs  and  markets,  to  sell  or  exchange 
mules  and  asses,  which  they  know  how  to  procure  at  a  cheap 
rate.  They  are  commonly  cast-off  animals,  which  they  have 
the  art  to  dress  up,  and  they  are  satisfied,  in  appearance, 
with  a  moderate  profit,  which,  however,  is  always  more  than 
is  supposed,  because  they  feed  these  animals  at  the  expense 
of  the  farmers.  They  ramble  all  night,  in  order  to  steal 
fodder  ;  and  whatever  precautions  may  have  been  taken 
against  them,  it  is  not  possible  to  be  always  guarded  against 
their  address. 

“  Happily  the  Gitanos  are  not  murderers.  It  would, 
without  doubt,  be  important  to  examine  if  it  is  to  the  natural 
goodness  of  their  disposition,  to  their  frugality,  and  the  few 


CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


89 


wants  they  feel  in  their  state  of  half  savage,  that  is  to  be 
attributed  the  sentiment  that  repels  them  from  great  crimes, 
or  if  this  disposition  arises  from  their  habitual  state  of  alarm, 
or  from  that  want  of  courage  which  must  be  a  necessary 
consequence  of  the  infamy  in  which  they  are  plunged.* 

*  Annals  de  Statistigue,  No.  Ill,  page  31-37. — What  the  writer  of  this 
article  says  "of  the  aversion  which  the  Gipsies  have  to  the  shedding  of 
human  blood,  not  of  their  own  fraternity,  appears  to  have  been  universal 
among  the  tribe;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  seem  to  have  had  little  or 
no  hesitation  in  putting  to  death  those  of  their  own  tribe.  This  writer  also 
says,  that  the  Gipsies  of  the  Pyrenees  have  a  religion  of  their  own,  which 
they  practise  secretly,  without  mentioning  what  this  secret  religion  is.  It 
is  probable  that  his  remark  is  applicable  to  the  sacrifice  of  horses,  as  des¬ 
cribed  in  chapter  viii. 


CHAPTER  II. 


ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 

The  first  arrival  of  the  Gipsies  in  England  appears  to 
have  been  about  the  year  1512  *  but  this  does  not  seem  to 
be  quite  certain.  It  is  probable  they  may  have  arrived 
there  at  an  earlier  period.  The  author  from  which  the 
fact  is  derived  published  his  work  in  1612,  and  states,  gen¬ 
erally,  that  “  this  kind  of  people,  about  a  hundred  years 
ago,  began  to  gather  an  head,  about  the  southern  parts. 
And  this,  I  am  informed  and  can  gather,  was  their  begin¬ 
ning  :  Certain  Egyptians,  banished  their  country,  (belike 
not  for  their  good  condition,)  arrived  here  in  England  ; 
who,  for  quaint  tricks  and  devices,  not  known  here  at  that 
time  among  us,  were  esteemed,  and  held  in  great  admira¬ 
tion  ;  insomuch  that  many  of  our  English  loiterers  joined 
with  them,  and  in  time  learned  their  crafty  cozening. 

“The  speech  which  they  used  was  the  right  Egyptian 
language,  with  Avhom  our  Englishmen  conversing  at  least 
learned  their  language.  These  people,  continuing  about 
the  country,  and  practising  their  cozening  art,  purchased 
themselves  great  credit  among  the  country  people,  and  got 
much  by  palmistry  and  telling  of  fortunes ;  insomuch  that 
they  pitifully  cozened  poor  country  girls  both  of  money, 
silver  spoons,  and  the  best  of  their  apparel,  or  any  goods 
they  could  make.”t 

From  this  author  it  is  collected  they  had  a  leader  of  the 
name  of  Giles  Hather,  who  was  termed  their  king  ;  and  a 
woman  of  the  name  of  Calot  was  called  queen.  These, 
riding  through  the  country  on  horseback,  and  in  strange 
attire,  had  a  pretty  train  after  them.'! 

*  Hoyland. 

t  A  quarto  work  by  S.  R.,  published  to  detect  and  expose  the  art  of 
juggling  and  legerdemain,  in  1612.  J  Hoyland. 

(90) 


ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 


91 


It  appears,  from  this  account,  that  the  Gipsies  had  been 
observed  on  the  continent  about  a  hundred  years  before 
they  visited  England.  According  to  Dr.  Bright,  they 
seemed  to  have  roamed  up  and  down  the  continent  of  Eu¬ 
rope,  without  molestation,  for  about  half  a  century,  before 
their  true  character  was  perfectly  known.  If  1512  was 
really  the  year  in  which  these  people  first  set  foot  in  Eng¬ 
land,  it  would  seem  that  the  English  government  had  not 
been  so  easily  nor  so  long  imposed  on  as  the  kings  of  Scot¬ 
land,  and  the  authorities  of  Europe  generally.  For  we 
find  that,  within  about  the  space  of  ten  years  from  this 
period,  they  are,  by  the  10th  chapter  of  the  22d  Henry 
YlII,  denominated  “an  outlandish  people,  calling  them¬ 
selves  Egyptians,  using  no  craft  nor  feat  of  merchandise, 
who  have  come  into  this  realm,  and  gone  from  shire  to 
shire,  and  place  to  place,  in  great  company  ;  and  used  great 
subtlety  and  crafty  means  to  deceive  the  people — bearing 
them  in  hand  that  they,  by  palmistry,  could  tell  men’s  and 
women’s  fortunes;  and  so,  many  times,  by  craft  and  subtlety, 
have  deceived  the  people  for  their  money  ;  and  also  have 
committed  many  heinous  felonies  and  robberies.”  As  far 
back  as  the  year  15-1 9,  they  had  become  very  troublesome 
in  England,  for,  on  the  22d  June  of  that  year,  according  to 
Burnet’s  History  of  the  Reformation,  “  there  was  privy 
search  made  through  all  Sussex  for  all  vagabonds,  Gipsies, 
conspirators,  prophesiers,  players,  and  such  like.” 

The  Gipsies  in  England  still  continued  to  commit  num¬ 
berless  thefts  and  robberies,  in  defiance  of  the  existing 
statutes  ;  so  that  each  succeeding  law  enacted  against  them 
became  severer  than  the  one  which  preceded  it.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  is  an  extract  from  the  27th  Henry  VIII }  “  Whereas, 
certain  outlandish  people,  who  do  not  profess  any  craft  or 
trade  whereby  to  maintain  themselves,  but  go  about  in 
great  numbers,  from  place  to  place,  using  insidious  means  to 
impose  on  his  majesty’s  subjects,  making  them  believe  that 
they  understand  the  art  of  foretelling  to  men  and  women 
their  good  and  evil  fortunes,  by  looking  in  their  hands, 
whereby  they  frequently  defraud  people  of  their  money  ; 
likewise  arc  guilty  of  thefts  and  highway  robberies  :  It  is 
hereby  ordered  that  the  said  vagrants,  commonly  called 
Egyptians,  in  case  as  thieves  and  rascals  ....  and  on  the 
importation  of  any  such  Egyptians,  he,  the  importer,  shall 


92 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


forfeit  forty  pounds  for  every  trespass."  So  much  had  the 
conduct  of  the  Gipsies  exasperated  the  government  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  that  it  was  enacted,  during  her  reign,  that  “  If 
any  person,  being  fourteen  years,  whether  natural  born  sub¬ 
ject  or  stranger,  who  had  been  seen  in  the  fellowship  of  such 
persons,  or  disguised  like  them,  and  remain  witli  them  one 
month  at  once,  or  at  several  times,  it  should  be  felony  with¬ 
out  benefit  of  clergy.”*  It  would  thus  appear  that,  when 
the  Gipsies  first  arrived  in  England,  they  had  not  kept 
their  language  a  secret,  as  is  now  the  case  ;  for  some  of  the 
Englishmen  of  that  period  had  acquired  it  by  associating 
with  tliem.f 

In  carrying  out  the  foregoing  extraordinary  enactments, 
the  public  was  at  the  expense  of  exporting  the  Gipsies  to 
the  continent ;  and  it  may  reasonably  be  assumed  that  great 
numbers  of  these  unhappy  people  were  executed  under  these 
sanguinary  laws.  A  few  years  before  the  restoration  of 
Charles  II,  thirteen  Gipsies  were  executed  “at  one  Suffolk 
assize.”  This  appears  to  have  been  the  last  instance  of  in¬ 
flicting  the  penalty  of  death  on  these  unfortunate  people  in 
England,  merely  because  they  were  Gipsies4  But  although 
these  laws  of  blood  are  now  repealed,  the  English  Gipsies 
are  liable,  at  the  present  day,  to  be  proceeded  against  under 
the  Vagrant  Act ;  as  these  statutes  declare  all  those  per¬ 
sons  “  pretending  to  be  Gipsies,  or  wandering  in  the  habit 
and  form  of  Egyptians,  shall  be  deemed  rogues  and  vaga¬ 
bonds.” 

In  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  it  was  thought  England 
contained  above  10,000  Gipsies  ;  and  Mr.  Hoyland,  in  his 
historical  survey  of  these  people,  supposes  that  there  are 
18,000  of  the  race  in  Britain  at  the  present  day.  A  mem¬ 
ber  of  Parliament,  it  is  reported,  stated,  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  that  there  were  not  less  than  36,000  Gipsies  in 
Great  Britain.  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  statement 
of  the  latter  will  be  nearest  the  truth  ;  as  I  am  convinced 
that  the  greater  part  of  all  those  persons  who  traverse  Eng¬ 
land  with  earthenware,  in  carts  and  waggons,  are  a  superior 
class  of  Gipsies.  Indeed,  a  Scottish  Gipsy  informed  me, 

*  English  acts  of  Parliament. 

\  This  does  not  appear  to  be  necessarily  the  case.  These  Englishmen 
may  have  married  Gipsies,  become  Gipsies  by  adoption,  and  so  learned 
the  language,  as  happens  at  the  present  day. — Ed.  t  Hoyland. 


ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 


93 


that  almost  all  those  people  are  actually  Gipsies.  Now  Mr. 
Hoyland  takes  none  of  these  potters  into  his  account,  when 
he  estimates  the  Gipsy  population  at  only  18,000  souls. 
Besides,  Gipsies  have  informed  me  that  Ireland  contains  a 
great  many  of  the  tribe  ;  many  of  whom  are  now  finding- 
their  way  into  Scotland.* 

I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  greater  part  of  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Gipsies  live  more  apart  from  the  other  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  reside  more  in  tents,  and  exhibit  a  great  deal 
more  of  their  pristine  manners,  than  their  brethren  do  in 
Scotland.! 

The  English  Gipsies  also  travel  in  Scotland,  with  earthen¬ 
ware  in  cart?  and  waggons.  A  body  of  them,  to  the  num¬ 
ber  of  six  tents,  with  sixteen  horses,  encamped,  on  one  occa¬ 
sion,  on  the  farm  of  Kinglcdoors,  near  the  source  of  the 
Tweed.  They  remained  on  the  ground  from  Saturday  night 
till  about  ten  o’clock  on  Monday  morning,  before  they 
struck  their  tents  and  waggons. 

At  St.  Boswell’s  fair  I  once  inspected  a  horde  of  English 
Gipsies,  encamped  at  the  side  of  a  hedge,  on  the  Jedburgh 
road  as  it  enters  St.  Boswell’s  Green.  Their  name  was 
Blewett,  from  the  neighbourhood  of  Darlington.  The  chief 
possessed  two  tents,  two  large  carts  laden  with  earthenware, 
four  horses  and  mules,  and  five  large  dogs.  He  was  attended 
by  two  old  females  and  ten  young  children.  One  of  the 
women  was  the  mother  of  fourteen,  and  the  other  the 
mother  of  fifteen,  children.  This  chief  and  the  two  females 
were  the  most  swarthy  and  barbarous  looking  people  I  ever 
saw.  They  had,  however,  two  beautiful  children  with  them, 

*  The  number  of  the  British  Gipsies  mentioned  here  is  greatly  under¬ 
stated.  See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. — Ed. 

f  In  no  part  of  the  world  is  the  Gipsy  life  more  in  accordance  with  tho 
general  idea  that  the  Gipsy  is  like  Cain — a  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the 
earth — than  in  England  ;  for  there,  the  covered  cart  and  the  little  tent  are 
the  houses  of  the  Gipsy  ;  and  he  seldom  remains  more  than  three  days  in 
the  same  place.  So  conducive  is  the  climate  of  England  to  beauty,  that 
nowhere  else  is  the  appearance  of  tho  race  so  prepossessing  as  in  that 
country.  Their  complexion  is  dark,  but  not  disagreeably  so ;  their  faces 
are  oval,  their  features  regular,  their  foreheads  rather  low,  and  their  hands 
and  feet  small.  The  men  are  taller  than  the  English  peasantry,  and  far 
more  active.  They  all  speak  the  English  language  with  fluency,  and  in 
their  gait  and  demeanour  are  easy  and  graceful;  in  both  respects  standing 
in  striking  contrast  with  the  peasantry,  who,  in  speech,  are  slow  and  un¬ 
couth,  and,  in  manner,  dogged  and  brutal. — Borrow. — Ed. 


94 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


about  five  years  of  age,  with  light  flaxen  hair,  and  very  fair 
complexions.  The  old  Gipsy  women  said  they  were  twins  ; 
but  they  might  have  been  stolen  from  different  parents,  for 
all  that,  as  there  was  nothing  about  them  that  had  the 
slightest  resemblance  to  any  one  of  the  horde  that  claimed 
them.  Apparently  much  care  was  taken  of  them,  as  they 
were  very  cleanly  and  neatly  kept.* 

This  Gipsy  potter  was  a  thick-set,  stout  man,  above  the 
middle  size.  He  was  dressed  in  an  old  dark-blue  frock  coat, 
with  a  profusion  of  black,  greasy  hair,  which  covered  the 
upper  part  of  his  broad  shoulders.  Pie  wore  a  high-crowned, 
narrow-brimmed,  old  hat,  with  a  lock  of  his  black  hair 
hanging  down  before  each  ear,  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
Spanish  Gipsies  are  described  by  Swinburn.  He  also  wore 
a  pair  of  old  full-topped  boots,  pressed  half  way  down  his 
legs,  and  wrinkled  about  his  ankles,  like  buskins.  His  vis¬ 
age  was  remarkably  dark  and  gloomy.  He  walked  up  and 
down  the  market  alone,  without  speaking  to  any  one,  with  a 
peculiar  air  of  independence  about  him,  as  he  twirled  in  his 
hand,  in  the  Gipsy  manner,  by  way  of  amusement,  a  strong 
bludgeon,  about  three  feet  long,  which  he  held  by  the  centre. 
I  happened  to  be  speaking  to  a  surgeon  in  the  fair,  at  the 
time  the  Gipsy  passed  me,  when  I  observed  to  him  that  that 
strange-looking  man  was  a  Gipsy;  at  which  the  surgeon 
only  laughed,  and  said  he  did  not  believe  any  such  thing. 
To  satisfy  him,  I  followed  the  Gipsy,  at  a  little  distance, 
till  he  led  me  straight  to  his  tents  at  the  Jedburgh  road 
already  mentioned. 

This  Gipsy  band  had  none  of  their  wares  unpacked,  nor 
wTere  they  selling  anything  in  the  market.  They  wrere 
cooking  a  lamb’s  head  and  pluck,  in  a  pan  suspended  from  a 
triangle  of  rods  of  iron,  while  beside  it  lay  an  abundance 
of  small  potatoes,  in  a  wooden  dish.  The  females  wore 
black  Gipsy  bonnets.  The  visage  of  the  oldest  one  was  re¬ 
markably  long,  her  chin  resting  on  her  breast.  These  three 
old  Gipsies  were,  altogether,  so  dark,  grim,  and  outlandish- 
looking,  that  they  had  little  or  no  appearance  of  being 
natives  of  Britain.  On  enquiring  if  they  were  Gipsies, 

*  It,  does  not  follow,  from  what  our  author  says  about  these  two  children, 
that  they  were  stolen.  I  have  seen  some  of  the  children  of  English  Gip¬ 
sies  as  fair  as  any  Saxon.  It  sometimes  happens  that  the  flaxen  hair  of  a 
Gipsy  child  will  change  into  raven  black  before  he  reaches  manhood. — Ed. 


ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 


95 


and  could  speak  the  language,  the  oldest  female  gave  me 
the  following  answrer :  “We  are  potters,  and  strangers  in 
this  land.  The  people  are  civil  unto  us.  I  say,  God  bless 
the  people  ;  God  bless  them  all.”  She  spoke  these  words  in 
a  decided,  emphatic,  and  solemn  tone,  as  if  she  believed 
herself  possessed  of  the  power  to  curse  or  bless  at  pleasure. 
On  turning  my  back,  to  leave  them,  I  observed  them  burst 
out  a  laughing  ;  making  merry,  as  I  supposed,  at  the  idea  of 
having  deceived  me  as  to  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged. 

The  following  anecdote  will  give  some  idea  of  the  man¬ 
ner  of  life  of  the  Gipsies  in  England. 

A  man,  whom  I  knew,  happened  to  lose  his  way,  one  dark 
night,  in  Cambridgeshire.  After  wandering  up  and  down 
for  some  time,  he  observed  a  light,  at  a  considerable  distance 
from  him,  within  the  skirts  of  a  wood,  and,  being  overjoyed 
at  the  discovery,  lie  directed  his  course  toward  it ;  but,  be¬ 
fore  reaching  the  tire,  he  wras  surprised  at  hearing  a  man,  a 
little  way  in  advance,  call  out  to  him,  in  a  loud  voice,  “  Peace 
or  not  peace?”  The  benighted  traveller,  glad  at  hearing 
the  sound  of  a  human  voice,  immediately  answered,  “  Peace  ; 
I  am  a  poor  Scotchman,  and  have  lost  my  way  in  the  dark.” 
“  You  can  come  forward  then,”  rejoined  the  sentinel.  When 
the  Scotchman  advanced,  ho  found  a  family  of  Gipsies,  with 
only  one  tent  ;  but,  on  being  conducted  further  into  the 
wood,  he  was  introduced  to  a  great  company  of  Gipsies. 
They  were  busily  employed  in  roasting  several  whole  sheep 
— turning  their  carcasses  before  large  fires,  on  long  wooden 
poles,  instead  of  iron  spits.  The  racks  on  which  the  spits 
turned  were  also  made  of  wood,  driven  into  the  ground, 
cross-ways,  like  the  letter  X.  The  Gipsies  were  exceedingly 
kind  to  the  stranger,  causing  him  to  partake  of  the  victuals 
which  they  had  prepared  for  their  feast.  He  remained  with 
them  the  whole  night,  eating  and  drinking,  and  dancing  with 
his  merry  entertainers,  as  if  he  had  been  one  of  themselves. 
When  day  dawned,  the  Scotchman  counted  twelve  tents 
within  a  short  distance  of  each  other.  On  examining  his 
position,  he  found  himself  a  long  way  out  of  his  road  ;  but 
a  party  of  the  Gipsies  voluntarily  offered  their  services, 
and  wTent  with  him  for  several  miles,  and,  with  great  kind¬ 
ness,  conducted  him  to  the  road  from  which  lie  had  wandered. 

The  crimes  of  some  of  the  English  Gipsies  have  greatly 
exceeded  those  of  the  Scottish,  such  as  the  latter  have  been. 


96 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  following-  details  of  the  history  of  an  English  Gipsy 
family  are  taken  from  a  report  on  the  prisons  in  Northum¬ 
berland.  The  writer  of  this  report  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  aware,  however,  of  the  family  in  question  being  Gip¬ 
sies,  speaking  an  Oriental  language,  and  that,  according  to 
the  custom  of  their  tribe,  a  dexterous  theft  or  robbery  is 
one  of  the  most  meritorious  actions  they  can  perform. 

“  Crime  in  Families.  William,  Winters'  Family. 

“  William  himself,  and  one  of  his  sons,  were  hanged  toge¬ 
ther  for  murder.  Another  son  committed  an  offence  for 
which  he  was  sent  to  the  hulks,  and,  soon  after  his  release, 
was  concerned  in  a  murder,  for  which  he  was  hanged.  Three 
of  the  daughters  were  convicted  of  various  offences,  and  the 
mother  was  a  woman  of  notorious  bad  character.  The 
family  was  a  terror  to  the  neighbourhood,  and,  according  to 
report,  had  been  so  for  generations.  The  father,  with  a 
woman  with  whom  he  cohabited,  (himself  a  married  0130,1 
was  hanged  for  house-breaking.  His  first  wife  was  a  wo¬ 
man  of  very  bad  character,  and  his  second  wife  was  trans¬ 
ported.  One  of  the  sons,  a  notorious  thief,  and  two  of  the 
daughters,  were  hanged  for  murder.  Mr.  Blake  believes 
that  the  only  member  of  the  family  that  turned  out  well  was 
a  girl,  who  was  taken  from  the  father  when  he  was  in  pri¬ 
son,  previous  to  execution,  and  brought  up  apart  from  her 
brothers  and  sisters.  The  grandfather  was  once  in  a  lunatic 
asylum,  as  a  madman.  The  father  had  a  quarrel  with  one 
of  his  sons,  about  the  sale  of  some  property,  and  shot  him 
dead.  The  mother  co-habited  with  another  man,  and  was 
one  morning  found  dead,  with  her  throat  cut.  One  of  the 
sons,  (not  already  spoken  of,)  had  a  bastard  child  by  one  of 
his  cousins,  herself  of  weak  intellect,  and,  being  under  suspi¬ 
cion  of  having  destroyed  the  child,  was  arrested.  While  in 
prison,  however,  and  before  the  trial  came  on,  he  destroyed 
himself  by  cutting  his  throat.” 

This  family,  I  believe,  are  the  Winters  noticed  by  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  as  follows  : 

“A  gang  (of  Gipsies),  of  the  name  of  Winters,  long  in¬ 
habited  the  wastes  of  Northumberland,  and  committed  many 
crimes  ;  among  others,  a  murder  upon  a  poor  woman,  with 
singular  atrocity,  for  which  one  of  them  was  hung  in  chains, 


ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 


97 


near  Tonpitt,  in  Reedsdale.  The  mortal  reliques  having 
decayed,  the  lord  of  the  manor  has  replaced  them  by  a 
wooden  effigy,  and  still  maintains  the  gibbet.  The  remnant 
of  this  gang  came  to  Scotland,  about  fifteen  years  ago,  and 
assumed  the  Roxburghshire  name  of  Wintirip,  as  they  found 
their  own  something  odious.  They  settled  at  a  cottage 
within  about  four  miles  of  Earlston,  and  became  great  plagues 
to  the  country,  until  they  were  secured,  after  a  tight  battle, 
tried  before  the  circuit  court  at  Jedburgh,  and  banished 
back  to  their  native  country  of  England.  The  dalesmen  of 
Reedwater  showed  great  reluctance  to  receive  these  returned 
emigrants.  After  the  Sunday  service  at  a  little  chapel  near 
Otterbourne,  one  of  the  squires  rose,  and,  addressing  the  con¬ 
gregation,  told  them  they  would  be  accounted  no  longer 
Reedsdale  men,  but  Reedsdale  women,  if  they  permitted  this 
marked  and  atrocious  family  to  enter  their  district.  The 
people  answered  that  they  would  not  permit  them  to  come 
that  way  ;  and  the  proscribed  family,  hearing  of  the  unan¬ 
imous  resolution  to  oppose  their  passage,  went  more  south- 
ernly,  by  the  heads  of  the  Tyne,  and  I  never  heard  more  of 
them,  but  I  have  little  doubt  they  are  all  hanged.* 

*  It  is  but  just  to  say  that  this  family  of  Winters  is,  or  at  least  was,  the 
worst  kind  of  English  Gipsies.  Their  name  is  a  by-word  among  the  race 
in  England.  When  they  say,  “  It’s  a  winter  morning,”  they  wish  to  ex- 
I'ress  something  very  bad.  It  is  difficult  to  get  them  to  admit  that  the 
Winters  belong  to  the  tribe. — Ed. 


5 


CHAPTER  III. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES,  DOWN  TO  THE  TEAR  1715. 

That  the  Gipsies  were  in  Scotland  in  the  year  1506  is 
certain,  as  appears  by  a  letter  of  James  IY,  of  Scotland,  to 
the  King  of  Denmark,  in  favour  of  Anthonius  Gawino,  Earl 
of  Little  Egypt,  a  Gipsy  chief.  But  there  is  a  tradition,  re¬ 
corded  in  Crawford’s  Peerage,  that  a  company  of  Gipsies, 
or  Saracens,  were  committing  depredations  in  Scotland  be¬ 
fore  the  death  of  James  II,  which  took  place  in  1460,  being 
forty-six  years  after  the  Gipsies  were  first  observed  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  and  it  is,  therefore,  probable  that  these 
wanderers  were  encamped  on  Scottish  ground  before  the 
year  1460,  above  mentioned.  As  I  am  not  aware  of  Sara¬ 
cens  ever  having  set  foot  in  Scotland,  England,  or  Ireland,  I 
am  disposed  to  think,  if  there  is  any  truth  in  this  tradition, 
it  alludes  to  the  Gipsies.*  The  story  relates  to  the  estate 
and  family  of  McLellan  of  Bombie,  in  Galloway,  and  is  as 
follows : 

In  the  reign  of  James  II,  the  Barony  of  Bombie  was  again 
recovered  by  the  McLellaus,  (as  the  tradition  goes,)  after 
this  manner  :  In  the  same  reign,  says  our  author  of  small 
credit,  (Sir  George  McKenzie,  in  his  baronage  M.S.,)  it  hap¬ 
pened  that  a  company  of  Saracens  or  Gipsies,  from  Ireland,! 

*  There  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  these  were  Gipsies.  They  were  evi¬ 
dently  a  roving-  band,  from  some  of  the  continental  hordes,  that  had  passed 
over  into  Scotland,  to  “  prospect”  and  plunder.  They  would,  very  natur¬ 
ally,  be  called  Saracens  by  the  natives  of  Scotland,  to  whom  any  black 
people,  at  that  time,  would  appear  as  Saracens.  We  may,  therefore,  assume 
that  the  Gipsies  have  been  fully  four  hundred  years  in  Scotland.  I  may 
mention,  however,  that  Mediterranean  corsairs  occasionally  landed  and 
plundered  on  the  British  coast,  to  as  late  a  period  as  the  reign  of  Charles 
I— Ed. 

f  Almost  all  the  Scottish  Gipsies  assert  that  their  ancestors  came  by 
way  of  Ireland  into  Scotland. 

[This  is  estremely  likely.  On  the  publication  of  the  edict  of  Ferdinand 
(98) 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


99 


infested  the  county  of  Galloway,  whereupon  the  king  intim¬ 
ated  a  proclamation,  bearing,  that  whoever  should  disperse 
them,  and  bring  in  their  captain,  dead  or  alive,  should  have 
the  Barony  of  Bombie  for  his  reward.  It  chanced  that  a 
brave  young  gentleman,  the  laird  of  Bombie’s  son,  fortunated 
to  kill  the  person  for  which  the  reward  was  promised,  and 
he  brought  his  head  on  the  point  of  his  sword  to  the  king, 
and  thereupon  he  was  immediately  seized  in  the  Barony  of 
Bombie  ;  and  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  that  brave  and 
remarkable  action,  lie  took  for  his  crest  a  Moor’s  head,  and 
‘  Think  on’  for  his  motto.'3*' 

As  armorial  bearings  were  generally  assumed  to  commem¬ 
orate  facts  and  deeds  of  arms,  it  is  likely  that  the  crest  of 
the  McLellans  is  the  head  of  a  Gipsy  chief.  In  the  reign 
of  James  II,  alluded  to,  we  find  “  away  putting  of  sorners, 
(forcible  obtruders,)  fancied  fools,  vagabonds,  out-liers,  mas¬ 
terful  beggars,  bairds ,  (strolling  rhymers,)  and  such  like 
runners  about,”  is  more  than  once  enforced  by  acts  of  parlia- 
ment.f 

But  the  earliest  authentic  notice  which  has  yet  been  dis¬ 
covered  of  the  first  appearance  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  is 
the  letter  of  James  IV,  to  the  King  of  Denmark,  in  1506. 
At  this  period  these  vagrants  represented  themselves  as 
Egyptian  pilgrims,  and  so  far  imposed  on  our  religious  and 
melancholy  monarch,  as  to  procure  from  him  a  favourable 
recommendation  to  his  uncle  of  Denmark,  in  behalf  of  one  of 
these  “  Earls,”  and  his  “  lamentable  retinue.”  The  following 
is  a  translation  of  this  curious  epistle  : 

“  Most  illustrious,  &c. — Anthonius  Gawino,  Earl  of  Little 
Egypt,  and  the  other  afflicted  and  lamentable  tribe  of  his  re¬ 
tinue,  whilst,  through  a  desire  of  travelling,  and,  by  command 
of  the  Pope,:];  (as  he  says,)  pilgriming,  over  the  Christian 

of  Spain,  in  1492,  some  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies  would  likely  pass  over  to  the 
south  of  Ireland,  and  thence  find  their  way  into  Scotland,  before  150G. 
Anthonius  Gawino,  above  referred  to,  would  almost  seem  to  be  a  Spanish 
name.  We  may,  therefore,  very  safely  assume  that  the  Gipsies  of  Scotland 
are  of  Spanish  Gipsy  descent. — Ed. 

*  Crawford’s  Peerage,  page  238. 

f  Glendook’s  Scots’  acts  of  parliament. 

X  Mr.  Hoyland  makes  some  very  judicious  remarks  upon  the  capacity  of 
the  Gipsies,  when  they  first  appeared  in  Europe.  Ho  says:  “  The  first  of 
this  people  who  came  into  Europe  must  have  been  persons  of  discernment 
and  discrimination,  to  have  adapted  their  deceptions  so  exactly  to  the  genius 
and  habits  of  the  different  people  they  visited,  as  to  ensure  success  iu  all 


100 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


world,  according  to  their  custom,  had  lately  arrived  on  the 
frontiers  of  our  kingdom,  and  implored  us  that  we,  out  of 
humanity,  would  allow  him  to  approach  our  limits  without 
damage,  and  freely  carry  about  all  things,  and  the  company 
he  now  has.  He  easily  obtains  what  the  hard  fortune 
wretched  men  require.  Thus  he  has  sojourned  here,  (as  we 
have  been  informed,)  for  several  months,  in  peaceable  and 
catholic  manner.  King  and  uncle,  he  now  proposes  a  voyage 
to  Denmark  to  thee.  But,  being  about  to  cross  the  ocean, 
he  hath  requested  our  letters,  in  which  we  would  inform 
your  Highness  of  these,  and  at  the  same  time  commend  the 
calamity  of  this  tribe  to  your  royal  munificence.  But  we 
believe  that  the  fates,  manners,  and  race  of  the  wandering 
Egyptians  are  better  known  to  thee  than  us,  because  Egypt 
is  nearer  thy  kingdom,  and  a  greater  number  of  such  men 
sojourn  in  thy  kingdom.— Most  illustrious,  <fcc.”* 

countries.  The  stratagem  to  which  they  had  recourse,  on  entering  France, 
evinces  consummate  artifice  of  plan,  and  not  a  little  adroitness  and  dex¬ 
terity  in  the  execution.  The  specious  appearance  of  submission  to  Papal 
authority,  in  the  penance  of  wandering  seven  years,  without  lying  in  a  bed, 
contained  three  distinct  objects.  They  could  not  have  devised  an  expedient 
more  likely  to  recommend  them  to  the  favour  of  the  ecclesiastics,  or  better 
concerted  for  taking  advantage  of  the  superstitious  credulity  of  the  people, 
and,  at  the  same  time,  for  securing  to  themselves  the  gratification  of  their 
own  nomadic  propensities.  So  complete  was  the  deception  they  practised, 
that  we  find  they  wandered  up  and  down  France,  under  the  eye  of  the  ma¬ 
gistracy,  not  for  seven  years  only,  but  for  more  than  a  hundred  years,  with¬ 
out  molestation.” 

Mr.  Hoyland’s  remarks  cover  only  half  of  the  question,  for,  being  “  pil¬ 
grims,”  their  chiefs  must  also  assume  very  high  titles,  to  give  them  con¬ 
sideration  with  the  rulers  of  Europe — such  as  dukes,  earls,  lords,  counts 
and  knights.  To  carry  out  the  character  of  pilgrims,  the  body  would  go 
very  poorly  clad  ;  it  would  only  be  the  chiefs  who  would  be  flashily  accou¬ 
tred.  It  is,  therefore,  by  no  means  wonderful  that  the  Gipsies  should  have 
succeeded  so  well,  and  so  long,  in  obtaining  an  entrance,  and  a  toleration, 
in  every  country  of  Europe. — Ed. 

*  Illustrissime,  Ac. — Anthonius  Gawino,  ex  Parva  Egypto  comes,  et 
csetera  ejus  comitatus,  gens  afflicta  et  miseranda,  dum  Christianam  orbem 
peregrinationes  studio,  Apostolicse  sedis,  (ut  refert)  jussu,  suorum  more 
peregrinans,  fines  nostri  regni  dudum  advenerat,  atque  in  sortis  suse,  et 
miseriarum  hujus  populi,  refugium,  nos  pro  humanitate  imploraverat  ut 
nostros  limites  sibi  impune  adire,  res  cunctas,  et  quarn  habet  societatem 
libere  circumagere  liceret.  Impetrat  facile  qua;  postulat  miserorum  homi- 
num  dura  fortuna.  Ita  aliquot  menses  bene  et  catholice,  (sic  accepimus,) 
hie  versatus,  ad  te,  Rex  et  avuncule,  in  Racism  transitum  paret.  Sed 
oceanum  transmissurus  nostras  litera3  exoravit ;  qnibus  celsitudinem  tuam 
liorum  certiorum  redderemus,  simul  et  calamitatem  ejus  gentis  Regice  tiue 
munificentise  commendaremus.  Ceterum  errabunda;  Egypti  fata,  moresque, 
et  genus,  eo  tibe  quam  nobis  credimus  notiorn,  quo  Egyptus  tuo  regno 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


101 


Fi’om  1506  to  1540,  the  28th  of  the  reign  of  James  V, 
we  find  that  the  true  character  of  the  Gipsies  had  not 
reached  the  Scottish  court ;  for,  in  1540,  the  king  of  Scot¬ 
land  entered  into  a  league  or  treaty  with  “John  Faw, 
Lord  and  Earl  of  Little  Egypt;”  and  a  writ  passed  the 
Privy  Seal,  the  same  year,  in  favour  of  this  Prince  or  Rajah 
of  the  Gipsies.  As  the  public  edicts  in  favour  of  this  race 
are  extremely  rare,  I  trust  a  copy  of  this  curious  document, 
in  this  place,  may  not  be  unacceptable  to  the  reader.* 

“  James,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Scots :  To  our 
sheriffs  of  Edinburgh,  principal  and  within  the  constabulary 
of  Haddington,  Berwick,  Roxburgh,  &c.,  &c. ;  provosts, 
aldermen,  and  baillies  of  our  burghs  and  cities  of  Edinburgh, 
&c.,  &c.,  greeting :  Forasmuch  as  it  is  humbly  meant  and 
shown  to  us,  by  our  loved  John  Faw,  Lord  and  Earl  of  Little 
Egypt,  that  whereas  he  obtained  our  letter  under  our  great 
seal,  direct  you  all  and  sundry  our  said  sheriffs,  stewarts, 
baillies,  provosts,  aldermen,  and  baillies  of  burghs,  and  to 
all  and  sundry  others  having  authority  within  our  realm,  to 
assist  him  in  execution  of  justice  upon  his  company  and 
folk,  conform  to  the  laws  of  Egypt,  and-  in  punishing  of  all 
them  that  rebel  against  him  :  nevertheless,  as  we  are  in¬ 
formed,  Sebastianc  Lalow  Egyptian,  one  of  the  said  John’s 
company,  with  his  accomplices  and  partakers  under  written, 
that  is  to  say,  Anteane  Donea,  Satona  Fingo,  Nona  Finco, 
Phillip  Hatscyggaw,  Towla  Bailyow,  Grasta  Neyn,  Geleyr 
Bailyow,  Bernard  Beige,  Deineo  Matskalla  (or  Macskalla), 
Notfaw  Lawlowr,  Martyn  Femine,  rebels  and  conspirators 
against  the  said  John  Faw,  and  have  removed  them  all 
utterly  out  of  his  company,  and  taken  from  him  divers  sums 
of  money,  jewels,  clothes  and  other  goods,  to  the  quantity 
of  a  great  sum  of  money  ;  and  on  nowise  will  pass  home 
with  him,  howbeit  he  has  bidden  and  remained  of  long  time 
upon  them,  and  is  bound  and  obliged  to  bring  home  with 
him  all  them  of  his  company  that  are  alive,  and  a  testimony 
of  them  that  are  dead  :  and  as  the  said  John  has  the  said 

vicinior,  et  major  hujusmodi  liominum  frequentia  tuo  diversatur  imperio. 
Illustrissime,  die. 

*  I  have  taken  the  liberty  of  translating  the  various  extracts  from  the 
Scottish  acts  of  parliament,  quoted  in  this  chapter,  as  the  original  language 
is  not  very  intelligible  to  English  or  even  Scottish  readers.  For  doing 
this,  I  may  be  denounced  as  a  Vandal  by  the  ultra  Scotch,  for  so  treating 
such  “  rich  old  Doric,”  as  the  language  of  the  period  may  be  termed. — Ed. 


103 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Sebastiane’s  obligation,  made  in  Dunfermline  before  our 
master  household,  that  he  and  his  company  should  remain 
with  him,  and  on  nowise  depart  from  him,  as  the  same  bears  : 
In  contrary  to  the  tenor  of  which,  the  said  Sebastiane,  by 
sinister  and  wrong’  information,  false  relation,  circumvention 
of  us,  has  purchased  our  writings,  discharging  him  and  the 
remnant  of  the  persons  above  written,  his  accomplices  and 
partakers  of  the  said  John’s  company,  and  with  his  goods 
taken  by  them  from  him  ;  causes  certain  our  lieges  assist 
them  and  their  opinions,  and  to  fortify  and  take  their  part 
against  the  said  John,  their  lord  and  master  ;  so  that  he  on 
nowise  can  apprehend  nor  get  them,  to  have  them  home 
again  within  their  own  country,  after  the  tenor  of  his  said 
bond,  to  his  heavy  damage  and  slcaith  (hurt),  and  in  great 
peril  of  losing  his  heritage,  and  expressly  against  justice  : 
Our  Avill  is,  therefore,  and  we  charge  you  straightly  and 

command  that  . . ye  and  every  one  of  you 

within  the  bounds  of  your  offices,  command  and  charge  all 
our  lieges,  that  none  of  them  take  upon  hand  to  reset, 
assist,  fortify,  supply,  maintain,  defend,  or  take  part  with 
the  said  Sebastiane  and  his  accomplices  above  written,  for 
no  body’s  nor  other  way,  against  the  said  John  Daw,  their 
lord  and  master  ;  but  that  they  and  ye,  in  likewise,  take 
and  lay  hands  upon  them  wherever  they  maybe  apprehended, 
and  bring  them  to  him,  to  be  punished  for  their  demerits, 
conform  to  his  laws  ;  and  help  and  fortify  him  to  punish  and 
do  justice  upon  them  for  their  trespasses  ;  and  to  that  effect 
lend  him  your  prisons,  stocks,  fetters,  and  all  other  things 
necessary  thereto,  as  ye  and  each  of  you,  and  all  other  our 
lieges,  will  answer  to  us  thereupon,  and  under  all  highest 
pain  and  charge  that  after  may  follow  :  So  that  the  said 
John  have  no  cause  of  complaint  thereupon  in  time  coming, 
nor  to  resort  again  to  us  to  that  effect,  notwithstanding  any 
our  writings,  sinisterly  purchased  or  to  be  purchased,  by  the 
said  Sebastiane  on  the  contrary  :  And  also  charge  all  our 
lieges  that  none  of  them  molest,  vex,  unquiet,  or  trouble  the 
said  John  Faw  and  his  company,  in  doing  their  lawful  busi¬ 
ness,  or  otherwise,  within  our  realm,  and  in  their  passing, 
remaining,  or  away-going  forth  of  the  same,  under  the  pain 
above  written  :  And  such-like  that  ye  command  and  charge 
all  skippers,  masters  and  mariners  of  all  ships  within  our 
realm,  at  all  ports  and  havens  where  the  said  John  and  his 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


103 


company  shall  happen  to  resort  and  come,  to  receive  him 
and  them  therein,  upon  their  expenses,  for  furthering  of  them 
forth  of  our  realm  to  the  parts  beyond  sea,  as  you  and  each 
of  them  such-like  will  answer  to  us  thereupon,  and  under 
the  pain  aforesaid.  Subscribed  with  our  hand,  and  under 
our  privy  seal  at  Falkland,  the  fifteenth  day  of  February, 
and  of  our  reign  the  28th  year.”* 

*  Ex.  Registro  Secreti  Sigilli,  Vol.  XIY,  fol.  59.  Blackwood.  Appendix 
to  McLaurin’s  Criminal  Trials. 

This  document  may  well  be  termed  the  most  curious  and  important  record 
of  the  early  history  of  the  Gipsy  race  in  Europe ;  and  it  is  well  worthy  of 
consideration.  The  meaning  of  it  is  simply  this:  John  Faw  had  evidently 
been  importuned  by  the  Scottish  Court,  (at  which  he  appears  to  have  been 
a  man  of  no  small  consequence,)  to  bring  his  so-called  ‘‘pilgrimage,”  which 
he  had  undertaken  “by  command  of  the  Pope,”  to  an  end,  so  far,  at  least, 
as  remaining  in  Scotland  was  concerned.  Being  pressed  upon  the  point, 
he  evidently,  as  a  last  resource,  formed  a  plan  with  Sebastiane  Lalow,  and 
the  other  “  rebels,”  to  leave  him,  and  carry  off,  (as  he  said,)  his  property. 
To  give  the  action  an  air  of  importance,  and  make  it  appear  as  a  real  rebel¬ 
lion,  they  brought,  the  question  into  court.  Then,  John  could  turn  round, 
and  reply  to  the  king:  “  May  it  please  your  majesty!  I  can’t  return  to 
my  own  country.  My  company  and  folk  have  conspired,  rebelled,  robbed, 
and  left  me.  I  can’t  lay  my  hands  upon  them  ;  I  don’t  even  know  w  here 
to  find  them.  I  must  take  them  home  with  ine,  or  a  testimony  of  them 
that  are  dead,  under  the  great  peril  of  losing  my  heritage,  at  the  hands  of 
my  lord,  the  Duke  of  Egypt.  However,  if  your  majesty  will  help  me  to 
catch  them,  I  will  not  be  long  in  taking  leave  of  your  kingdom,  with  all 
roy  company.  In  the  meantime,  your  majesty  will  be  pleased  to  issue 
your  commands  to  all  the  shipowners  and  mariners  in  the  kingdom,  to  be 
ready,  when  1  gather  together  my  fol.k(!)  to  further  our  passage  to  Egypt, 
for  which  I  will  pay  them  handsomely.”  The  whole  business  may  be 
termed  a  piece  of  “thimble-rigging,”  to  prolong  their  stay — that  is,  enable 
them  to  remain  permanently — in  the  country.  Our  author,  I  think,  is  quite 
in  error  in  supposing  this  to  have  been  a  real  quarrel  among  the  Gipsies. 
If  it  had  been  a  real  quarrel,  the  Gipsies  would  soon  have  settled  the  ques¬ 
tion  among  themselves,  by  their  own  laws ;  it  would  have  been  the  last 
thing,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  they  would  have  thought 
of,  to  have  brought  it  before  the  Scottish  court.  The  Gipsies,  according 
to  Grellmann,  assigned  the  following  reason  for  prolonging  their  stay  in 
Europe:  “They  endeavoured  to  prolong  the  term  ( of  their  pilgrimage)  by 
asserting  that  their  return  home  was  prevented  by  soldiers,  stationed  to 
intercept  them  ;  and  by  wishing  to  have  it  believed  that  new  parties  of 
pilgrims  were  to  leave  their  country  every  year,  otherwise  their  land  would 
be  rendered  totally  barren.” 

'1  he  quarrel  between  the  Faas  and  the  Baillies,  for  the  Gipsy  croton,  in 
after  times,  did  not,  in  all  probability,  arise  from  this  business,  but  most 
likely,  as  the  English  Gipsies  believe,  from  some  marriage  between  these 
families.  The  Scottish  Gipsies,  like  the  two  Roses,  have  had.  and  for  aught 
I  know  to  the  contrary,  may  have  yet,  two  rival  kings — Faa  and  Baillie, 
with  their  partisans — although  the  Faas,  from  the  prominent  position  which 
they  have  always  occupied  in  Scottish  history,  have  been  the  only  kings 
known  to  the  Scottish  public  generally. 


104 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


This  curious  league  of  John  Faw  with  the  Scottish  king, 
who  acknowledges  the  laws  and  customs  of  the  Gipsies 
within  his  kingdom,  was  of  very  short  duration.  Like  that 
of  many  other  favourites  of  princes,  the  credit  which  the 
“  Earl  of  Little  Egypt”  possessed  at  court  was,  the  succeed¬ 
ing  year,  completely  annihilated,  and  that  with  a  vengeance, 
as  will  appear  by  the  following  order  in  council.  The  Gip¬ 
sies,  quarrelling  among  themselves,  and  publicly  bringing 
their  matters  of  dispute  before  the  government,  had,  per¬ 
haps,  contributed  to  produce  an  enquiry  into  the  real  char¬ 
acter  and  conduct  of  these  foreigners  ;  verifying  the  ancient 
adage,  that  a  house  divided  against  itself  cannot  stand. 
But  the  immediate  cause  assigned  for  the  sudden  change  of 
mind  in  the  king,  so  unfortunate  for  the  Gipsies,  is  handed 
down  to  us  in  the  following  tradition,  current  in  Fife  : 

King  James  V,  as  he  was  travelling  through  part  of  his 
dominions,  disguised  under  the  character  of  the  Gaberlunzie- 
man,  or  Guid-man  of  Ballangiegh.  prosecuting,  as  was  his 
custom,  his  low  and  vague  amours,  fell  in  with  a  band  of 
Gipsies,  in  the  midst  of  their  carousals,  in  a  cave,  near 
Wemyss,  in  Fifeshire.  His  majesty  heartily  joined  in  their 
revels,  but  it  was  not  long  before  a  scuffle  ensued,  wherein 
the  king  was  very  roughly  handled,  being  in  danger  of  his 
life.*  The  Gipsies,  perceiving  at  last  that  he  was  none  of 
their  people,  and  considering  him  a  spy,  treated  him  with 
great  indignity.  Among  other  humiliating  insults,  they 
compelled  his  royal  majesty,  as  an  humble  servant  of  a  Tink¬ 
ler,  to  carry  their  budgets  and  wrallets  on  his  back,  for 
several  miles,  until  he  was  exhausted  ;  and  being  unable  to 

In  perusing  this  work,  the  reader  will  be  pleased  to  take  the  above  men¬ 
tioned  document  as  the  starting  point  of  the  history  of  the  Gipsies  in 
Scotland;  and  consider  the  Gipsies  of  that  time  as  the  progenitors  of  all 
those  at  present  in  Scotland,  including  the  great  encrease  of  the  body,  by 
the  mixture  of  the  white  blood  that  has  been  brought  within  their  com¬ 
munity.  He  will  also  be  pleased  to  direst  himself  of  the  childish  preju¬ 
dices,  acquired  in  the  nursery  and  in  general  literature,  against  the  name 
of  Gipsy ;  and  consider  that  there  are  people  in  Scotland,  occupying  some 
of  the  highest  positions  in  life,  who  are  Gipsies ;  not  indeed  Gipsies  in  point 
of  purity  of  blood,  but  people  who  have  Gipsy  blood  in  their  veins,  and 
who  hold  themselves  to  be  Gipsies,  in  the  manner  which  I  have,  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  extent,  explained  in  the  Preface,  and  will  more  fully  illustrate  in  my 
Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. — En. 

*  The  Gipsies  asseit  that,  on  this  occasion,  the  king  attempted  to  take 
liberties  with  one  of  their  women :  and  that  one  of  the  male  Gipsies 
*■  came  crack  over  his  head  with  a  bottle.” — Ed. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


105 


proceed  a  step  farther,  he  sank  under  his  load.  He  was 
then  dismissed  with  scorn  and  contempt  by  the  merciless 
Gipsies.  Being  exasperated  at  their  cruel  and  contemptuous 
treatment  of  his  sacred  person,  and  having  seen  a  fair  speci¬ 
men  of  their  licentious  manner  of  life,  the  king  caused  an  order 
in  council  immediately  to  be  issued,  declaring  that,  if  three 
Gipsies  were  found  together,  one  of  the  three  was  instantly 
to  be  seized,  and  forthwith  hanged  or  shot,  by  any  one  of 
his  majesty’s  subjects  that  chose  to  put  the  order  in  execution. 

This  tradition  is  noticed  by  the  Rev.  Andrew  Small,  in 
his  antiquities  of  Fife,  in  the  following  words.  His  book 
came  into  my  hands  after  I  had  written  down  my  account 
of  the  tradition. 

“  But,  surely,  this  would  be  the  last  tinker  that  ever  he 
would  dub  (a  knight).  If  we  may  judge  from  what  hap¬ 
pened,  one  might  imagine  he,  (James  V,)  would  be  heartily 
sick  of  them,  (tinkers,)  being  taken  prisoner  by  three  of  them, 
and  compelled  to  stay  with  them  several  days,  so  that  his 
nobles  lost  all  trace  of  him,  and  being  also  forced,  not  only 
to  lead  their  ass,  but  likewise  to  assist  it  in  carrying  part  of 
the  panniers  !  At  length  he  got  an  opportunity,  when  they 
were  bousing  in  a  house  at  the  east  end  of  the  village  of 
Milnathort,  where  there  is  now  a  new  meeting-house  built, 
when  he  was  left  on  the  green  with  the  ass.  He  contrived 
to  write,  some  way,  on  a  slip  of  paper,  and  gave  a  boy  half- 
a-crown  to  run  with  it  . to  Falkland,  and  give  it  to  his  no¬ 
bles,  intimating  that  the  guid-man  of  Ballangiegh  was  in  a 
state  of  captivity.  After  they  got  it,  and  knew  where  he 
was,  they  were  not  long  in  being  with  him,  although  it  was 
fully  ten  miles  they  had  to  ride.  Whenever  he  got  assist¬ 
ance,  he  caused  two  of  the  tinkers,  that  were  most  harsh 
and  severe  to  him,  to  be  hanged  immediately,  and  let  the 
third  one,  that  was  most  favourable  to  him,  go  free.  They 
were  hanged  a  little  south-west  of  the  village,  at  a  place 
which,  from  the  circumstance,  is  called  the  Gallow-hill  to 
this  day.  The  two  skeletons  were  lately  found  after  the 
division  of  the  commonty  that  recently  took  place.  He  also, 
after  this  time,  made  a  law,  that  whenever  three  tinkers,  or 
Gipsies,  were  found  going  together,  two  of  them  should  be 
hanged,  and  the  third  set  at  liberty.”* 

*  Small’s  Roman  Antiquities  of  Fife,  pages  2S5  and  286.  Small  also  re¬ 
cords  a  song  composed  on  James  V  dubbing  a  Tinker  a  knight. 

5* 


106 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  following  order  in  council  is,  perhaps,  the  one  tc 
which  this  tradition  alludes  : 

“  Act  of  the  lords  of  council  respecting  John  Faw,  &c., 
June  6,  1541.  The  which  day  anent  the  complaint  given 
by  John  Faw  and  his  brother,  and  Sebastiane  Lalow, 
Egyptians,  to  the  King’s  grace,  ilk  ane  plenizeand  .  .  .  . 

upon  other  and  divers  faults  and  injuries  ;  and  that  it  is 
agreed  among  them  to  pass  home,  and  have  the  same  decid¬ 
ed  before  the  Duke  of  Egypt.*  The  lords  of  council,  being 
advised  with  the  points  of  the  said  complaints,  and  under¬ 
standing  'perfectly  the  great  thefts  and  skaitks  (hurts)  done 
by  the  said  Egyptians  upon  our  sovereign  lord’s  lieges,  where- 
ever  they  come  or  resort,  ordain  letters  to  be  directed  to  the 
provosts  and  baillies  of  Edinburgh,  St.  Johnstown  (Perth), 
Dundee,  Montrose,  Aberdeen,  St.  Andrews,  Elgin,  Forres, 
and  Inverness ;  and  to  the  sheriffs  of  Edinburgh,  Fife, 
Perth,  Forfar,  Kincardine,  Aberdeen,  Elgin  and  Forres, 
Banff,  Cromarty,  Inverness,  and  all  other  sheriffs,  stewarts, 
provosts  and  baillies,  where  it  happens  the  said  Egyptians  to 
resort.!  To  command  and  charge  them,  by  open  proclama¬ 
tion,  at  the  market  crosses  of  the  head  burghs  of  the  sher¬ 
iffdoms,  to  depart  forth  of  this  realm,  with  their  wives,  chil¬ 
dren,  and  companies,  within  xxx  days  after  they  be  charged 
thereto,  under  the  pain  of  death  ;  notwithstanding  any 
other  letters  or  privileges  granted  to  them  by  the  king’s 
grace,  because  his  grace,  with  the  advice  of  the  lords,  has 
discharged  the  same  for  the  causes  aforesaid  :  with  certifi¬ 
cation  that  if  they  be  found  in  this  realm,  the  said  xxx  days 
being  past,  they  shall  be  taken  and  put  to  death.”! 

This  sharp  order  in  council  seems  to  have  been  the  first 
edict  banishing  the  Gipsies  as  a  whole  people — men,  women, 

*  It  would  seem  that  John  Faw  had  become  frightened  at  the  mishap  of  ono 
of  his  folk  “  coming  crack  over  the  king’s  head  with  a  bottle,”  and  that,  to 
pacify  his  majesty,  he  had  at  once  gone  before  him,  and  informed  him  that 
he  had  prevailed  on  his  “  rebellious  subjects”  to  pass  home,  and  have  the 
matter  in  dispute  decided  by  the  Puke  of  Egypt.  This  would,  so  far,  satisfy 
the  king;  but  to  make  sure  of  getting  rid  of  his  troublesome  visitors,  he 
issued  his  commands  to  the  various  authorities  to  see  that  they  really  did 
leave  the  country. — Ed. 

j-  It  would  appear,  from  the  mention  that  is  made  here  of  the  authorities 
of  so  many  towns  and  counties,  “  where  it  happens  the  said  Egyptians  tc 
resort,”  that  the  race  was  scattered  over  all  Scotland  at  this  time,  and  that 
it  must  have  been  numerous. — Ed. 

\  M.  S.  Act.  Dom.  Con.  vol.  16,  fob  166. — Blackwood's  Magazine. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


107 


and  children — from  Scotland.  But  the  king,  whom,  accord* 
ing  to  tradition,  they  had  personally  so  deeply  offended,  dying 
in  the  following  year,  (1542)  a  new  reign  brought  new 
prospects  to  the  denounced  wanderers.*  They  seem  to  have 
had  the  address  to  recover  their  credit  with  the  succeeding 
government  ;  for,  in  1553,  the  writ  which  passed  the  privy 
seal  in  1540,  forming  a  sort  of  league  with  “  John  Faw,  Lord 
and  Earl  of  Little  Egypt,”  was  renewed  by  Hamilton,  Earl 
of  Arran,  then  Regent  during  the  minority  of  Queen  Mar)'. 
McLaurin,  in  his  criminal  trials,  when  speaking  of  John 
Faw,  gravely  calls  him  “  this  peer.”  “  There  is  a  writ  ” 
says  he,  “  of  the  same  tenor  in  favour  of  this  peer  from  Queen 
Mary,  same  record,  25  April,  1553  ;  and  8  April,  1554,  lie 
gets  remission  for  the  slaughter  of  Ninian  Small.”  In  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine  it  is  mentioned  that11  Andro  Faw,  Captain 
of  the  Egyptians, t  and  twelve  of  his  gang  specified  by  name, 
obtained  a  remission  for  the  slaughter  of  N inian  Small,  com¬ 
mitted  within  the  town  of  Linton,  in  the  month  of  March 
last  by  past  upon  suddenly.”  This  appears  to  be  the  slaugh¬ 
ter  to  which  McLaurin  alludes.  The  following  are  the 
names  of  these  thirteen  Gipsies  :  “  Andro  Faw,  captain  of 
the  Egyptians,  George  Faw,  Robert  Faw,  and  Anthony  Faw, 
his  sons,  Johnnc  Faw,  Andrew  George  Nichoah,  George 
Sebastiane  Colyne,  George  Colyne,  Julie  Colync,  Johnnc 
Colyne,  James  Haw,  Johnnc  Browne,  and  George  Browne, 
Egyptians.” 

From  the  edict  above  mentioned,  it  is  evident  that  the 
Gipsies  in  Scotland,  at  that  time,  were  allowed  to  punish  the 
criminal  members  of  their  own  tribe,  according  to  their  own 

*  It  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  severe  decree  of  James  Y  against  the 
Gipsies  arose  from  the  personal  insult  alluded  to,  owing  to  the  circumstance 
of  its  falling  to  the  ground  after  his  death,  and  the  Gipsies  recovering  their 
position  with  his  successor.  Apart  from  what  the  Gipsies  themselves  say 
on  this  subject,  the  ordinary  tradition  may  be  assumed  to  be  well  founded. 
If  the  Gipsies  were  spoken  to  on  the  subject  of  the  insult  offered  to  the 
king,  they  would  naturally  reply,  that  they  did  not  know,  from  his  having 
been  dressed  like  a  beggar,  that  it  was  the  king  ;  an  excuse  which  the  court, 
knowing  bis  majesty’s  vagabond  habits,  would  probably  receive.  But  it 
is  very  likely  that  John  Faw  would  declare  that  the  guilty  parties  were 
those  rebels  whom  he  was  desirous  to  catch,  and  take  home  with  him  to 
Egypt  1  This  Gipsy  king  seems  to  have  been  a  master  of  diplomacy. — Ed. 

f  The  Gipsy  chiefs  were  partial  to  the  title  of  Captain  ;  arising,  I  suppose, 
from  their  being  leaders  of  large  bands  of  young  men  employed  in  theft 
and  robbery.  [In  Spain,  such  Gipsy  chiefs,  according  to  Mr.  Borrow,  as¬ 
sumed  the  name  of  Counts. — Ed.] 


10S 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


peculiar  laws,  customs  and  usages,  without  molestation.  And 
it  cannot  be  supposed  that  the  ministers  of  three  or  four  suc¬ 
ceeding  monarchs  would  have  suffered  their  sovereigns  to  be 
so  much  imposed  on,  as  to  allow  them  to  put  their  names  to 
public  documents,  styling  poor  and  miserable  wretches,  as 
we  at  the  present  day  imagine  them  to  have  been,  “Lords 
and  Earls  of  Little  Egypt.”  Judging  from  the  accounts 
which  tradition  has  handed  down  to  us,  of  the  gay  and  fash¬ 
ionable  appearance  of  the  principal  Gipsies,  as  late  as  about 
the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century,  as  will  be  seen  in 
my  account  of  the  Tweed-dale  bands,  I  am  disposed  to  be¬ 
lieve  that  Antlionius  Gawino,  in  1506,  and  John  Faw,  in 
1540,  would  personally,  as  individuals,  that  is,  as  Gipsy 
Rajahs*  have  a  very  respectable  and  imposing  appearance 
in  the  eyes  of  the  officers  of  the  crown.  And  besides,  John 
Faw  appears  to  have  been  possessed  of  “  divers  sums  of 
money,  jewels,  clothes  and  other  goods,  to  the  quantity  of  a 
great  sum  of  money  and  it  would  seem  that  some  of  the 
officers  of  high  rank  in  the  household  of  our  kings  had  fin¬ 
gered  the  cash  of  the  Gipsy  pilgrims.  If  there  is  any  truth 
in  the  popular  and  uniform  tradition  that,  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  a  Countess  of  Cassilis  was  seduced  from  her  duty 
to  her  lord,  and  carried  off  by  a  Gipsy,  of  the  name  of  John 
Faa,  and  his  band,  it  cannot  be  imagined,  that  the  seducer 
would  be  a  poor,  wretched,  beggarly  Tinkler,  such  as  many 
of  the  tribe  are  at  this  day.  If  a  handsome  person,  elegant 
apparel,  a  lively  disposition,  much  mirth  and  glee,  and  a  con¬ 
stant  boasting  of  extraordinary  prowess,  would  in  any 
way  contribute  to  make  an  impression  on  the  heart  of  the 
frail  countess,  these  qualities,  I  am  disposed  to  think,  would 
not  be  wanting  in  the  “  Gipsy  Laddie.”  And,  moreover, 
John  Faw  bore,  on  paper  at  least,  as  high  a  title  as  her 
husband,  Lord  Cassilis,  from  whom  she  absconded.  It  is 
said  the  individual  who  seduced  the  fair  lady  was  a  Sir 
John  Faw,  of  Dunbar,  her  former  sweetheart,  and  not  a 
Gipsy  ;  but  tradition  gives  no  account  of  a  Sir  John  Faw,  of 
Dunbar.f  The  Falls,  merchants,  at  Dunbar,  were  descended 
from  the  Gipsy  Faas  of  Yetholm. 

*  Rajah — The  Scottish  Gipsy  word  for  a  chief,  governor,  or  prince. 

+  The  author,  (Mr.  Finlay,)  who  claims  a  Sir  John  Faw,  of  Dunbar,  to 
have  been  the  person  who  carried  off  the  Countess  of  Cassilis,  gives  no  au¬ 
thority,  ns  a  writer  in  Blackwood  says,  in  support  of  his  assertion.  Nor 
does  he  accoun/  for  a  person  of  that  name  being  any  other  than  a  Gipsy. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


109 


It  is  pretty  clear  that  the  Gipsies  remained  in  Scotland, 
■with  little  molestation,  from  1506  till  1579 — the  year  in 
which  James  VI  took  the  government  into  his  own  hands, 
being  a  period  of  about  seventy-three  years,  during  which 
time  these  wanderers  roamed  up  and  down  the  kingdom, 
without  receiving  any  check  of  consequence,  excepting  the 
short  period — probably  about  one  year — in  which  the  severe 
order  of  James  V  remained  in  force,  and  which,  in  all  pro¬ 
bability,  expired  with  the  king.* 

The  civil  and  religious  contests  in  which  the  nation  had 
been  long  engaged,  particularly  during  the  reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  produced  numerous  swarms  of  banditti,  who  commit¬ 
ted  outrages  in  every  part  of  the  country.  The  slighter  de¬ 
predations  of  the  Gipsy  bands,  in  the  midst  of  the  fierce  and 
bloody  quarrels  of  the  different  factions  that  generally  pre¬ 
vailed  throughout  the  kingdom,  would  attract  but  little  at¬ 
tention,  and  the  Gipsies  would  thereby  escape  the  punishment 
which  their  actions  merited.  But  the  government  being 
more  firmly  established,  by  the  union  of  the  different  parties 
who  distracted  the  country,  and  the  king  assuming  the  su¬ 
preme  authority,  which  all  acknowledged,  vigorous  measures 
were  adopted  for  suppressing  the  excess  of  strolling  vaga¬ 
bonds  of  every  description.  In  the  very  year  the  king  was 
placed  at  the  head  of  affairs,  a  law  was  passed,  “  For  punish¬ 
ment  of  strong  and  idle  beggars,  and  relief  of  the  poor  and 
impotent.” 

Against  the  Gipsies  this  sweeping  statute  is  particularly 
directed,  for  they  are  named,  and  some  of  their  practices 
pointed  out,  in  the  following  passage  :  “  And  that  it  may  be 

Indeed,  this  is  hut  an  instance  of  the  ignorance  and  prejudice  of  people  ge¬ 
nerally  in  regard  to  the  Gipsies.  The  tradition  of  the  hero  being  a  Gipsy, 
1  have  met  with  among  the  English  Gipsies,  who  even  gave  me  the  name 
of  the  lady.  John  Faw,  in  all  probability  the  king  of  the  Gipsies,  who  car¬ 
ried  off  the  countess,  might  reasonably  be  assumed  to  have  been,  in  point 
of  education,  on  a  par  with  her,  who,  in  that  respect,  would  not,  in  all  pro¬ 
bability,  rise  above  the  most  humble  Scotch  cow  milker  at  the  present  day, 
whatever  her  personal  bearing  might  have  been. — Ed. 

*  During  these  seventy-three  years  of  peace,  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland 
must  have  multiplied  prodigiously,  and,  in  all  probability,  drawn  much  of 
the  native  blood  into  their  body.  Not  being,  at  that  time,  a  proscribed 
race,  but,  on  the  contrary,  honoured  by  leagues  and  covenants  with  the 
king  himself,  the  ignorant  public  generally  would  have  few  of  those  objec¬ 
tions  to  intermarry  with  them,  which  they  have  had  in  subsequent  times. 
The  thieving  habits  of  the  Gipsies  would  prove  no  bar  to  such  connections, 
as  the  Scottish  people  were  accustomed  to  thieving  of  all  kinds. — Ed. 


110 


A  HIST  OUT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


known  what  manner  of  persons  arc  meant  to  be  strong  and 
idle  beggars  and  vagabonds,  and  worthy  of  the  punishment 
before  specified,  it  is  declared  that  all  idle  persons  going 
about  the  country  of  this  realm,  using  subtle,  crafty  and  un¬ 
lawful  plays — as  jugglery,  fast-and-loose,  and  such  others,  the 
idle  people  calling  themselves  Egyptians,  or  any  other  that 
fancy  themselves  to  have  knowledge  of  prophecy,  charming, 
or  other  abused  sciences,  whereby  they  persuade  the  people 
that  they  can  tell  their  weirds,  deaths,  and  fortunes,  and 
such  other  fantastical  imaginations.”*  And  the  following  is 
the  mode  prescribed  for  punishing  the  Gipsies,  and  the  other 
offenders  associated  with  them  in  this  act  of  parliament : 
“  That  such  as  make  themselves  fools  and  are  bairds,  (strol¬ 
ling  rhymers,)  or  other  such  like  runners  about,  being  appre¬ 
hended,  shall  be  put  in  the  king’s  ward,  or  irons,  so  long  as 
they  have  any  goods  of  their  own  to  live  on,  and  if  they  have 
not  whereupon  to  live  of  their  own,  that  their  ears  be  nailed 
to  the  tron  or  other  tree,  and  cut  off,  and  (themselves)  ban¬ 
ished  the  country  ;  and  if  thereafter  they  be  found  again, 
that  they  be  hanged.”! 

This  statute  was  ratified  and  confirmed  in  the  12th  par¬ 
liament  of  James  VI,  cap.  147,5th  June,  1592,  wherein  the 
incorrigible  Gipsies  are  again  referred  to  :  “  And  for  the 
better  trial  of  common  sorners  (forcible  obtruders,)  vaga¬ 
bonds,  and  masterful  beggars,  fancied  fools,  and  counterfeit 
Egyptians,  and  to  the  effect  that  they  may  be  still  pre¬ 
served  till  they  be  compelled  to  settle  at  some  certain 
dwelling,  or  be  expelled  forth  of  the  country,  &c.” 
The  next  law  in  which  the  Gipsies  are  mentioned,  with 
other  vagabonds,  was  passed  in  the  15th  parliament  of  the 
same  reign,  19th  December,  1597,  entitled,  “  Strong  beg¬ 
gars,  vagabonds,  and  Egyptians  should  be  punished.”  The 
statute  itself  reads  as  follows  :  “  Our  sovereign  lord  and  es¬ 
tates  of  parliament  ratify  and  approve  the  acts  of  parliament 

*  In  this  act  of  parliament  are  denounced,  along  with  the  Gipsies,  “  all 
minstrels,  songsters,  and  tale-tellers,  not  avowed  by  special  licence  of  some 
of  the  lords  of  parliament  or  great  barons,  or  by  the  high  burghs  and 
cities,  for  their  common  minstrels.”  “  All  vagabond  scholars  (!)  of  the  uni¬ 
versities  of  St.  Andrews,  Glasgow,  and  Aberdeen,  not  licenced  by  the  rector 
and  dean  of  faculty  to  ask  alms.”  It  would  seem,  from  this  last  extract, 
that  the  Scottish  Universities  granted  diplomas  to  their  students  to  beg  1 
The  Gipsies  were  associated  or  classed  with  good  company  at  this  time. 
But  beggar  students,  or  student-beggars,  were  common  in  other  parts  of 
Europe  during  that  age. — Ed. 

f  Glendook’s  Scots  Acts,  James  YI,  6th  Par.  cap.  14 — 20th  Oct.  1519. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


Ill 


made  before,  against  strong  and  idle  beggars,  vagabonds, 
and  Egyptians,”  with  this  addition  :  “  That  strong  beggars 
and  their  children  be  employed  in  common  works,  and  their 
service  mentioned  in  the  said  act  of  parliament,  in  the  year 
of  God,  1579,  to  be  prorogate  in  during  their  life  times,  Ac.”*' 
All  the  foregoing  laws  were  again  ratified  and  enforced 
by  another  act,  in  the  same  reign,  15th  November,  1600. 
The  following  extract  will  serve  to  give  some  explanation 
how  these  statutes  were  neglected,  and  seldom  put  in  force  : 
“  And  how  the  said  acts  have  received  little  or  no  effect  or 
execution,  by  the  oversight  and  negligence  of  the  persons 
who  were  nominated  justices  and  commissioners,  for  putting 
of  the  said  acts  to  full  and  due  execution,  so  that  the  strong 
and  idle  beggars,  being  for  the  most  part  thieves,  bairds, 
(strolling  rhymers,)  and  counterfeit  limmcrs,  (scoundrels,) 
living  most  insolently  and  ungodly,  without  marriage  or  bap¬ 
tism,  are  suffered  to  vaicj  and  wander  throughout  the  whole 
country.”!-  “  But,”  says  Baron  Hume,  “  all  ordinary  means 
having  proved  insufficient  to  restrain  so  numerous  and  so 
sturdy  a  crew,  the  privy  council  at  length,  in  June,  160J, 
were  induced  to  venture  on  the  more  effectual  expedient, 
(recommended  by  the  example  of  some  other  realm.)  of  at 
once  ordering  the  whole  race  to  leave  the  kingdom  by  a  cer¬ 
tain  day,  and  never  to  return  under  the  pain  of  death.J  A 
few  years  after,  this  proclamation  was  converted  into  per- 

*  By  the  above,  and  subsequent  statutes,  in  the  reign  of  James  YI, 
“  Coal  and  salt-masters  might  apprehend,  and  put  to  labour,  all  vagabonds 
and  sturdy  beggars.”  The  truth  is,  these  kidnapped  individuals  and  their 
children  were  made  slaves  of  to  these  masters.  The  colliers  were  emanci¬ 
pated  oidy  within  these  fifty  years.  It  has  been  stated  to  me  that  some  of 
the  colliers  in  the  Lothians  are  of  Gipsy  extraction.  [Our  author  might 
have  said  Gipsies;  for  being  “  of  Gipsy  extraction,”  and  Gipsies,”  are  ex¬ 
pressions  quite  synonymous,  notwithstanding  the  application  by  the  public 
of  the  latter  term  to  the  more  original  kind  of  Gipsies  only. — Ed.] 

f  If  Fletcher  of  Saltoun  bo  correct,  when  he  states  that,  in  his  time,  wffiich 
was  about  the  end  of  the  17th  century,  there  were  two  hundred  thousand 
people,  (about  one-fifth  of  the  whole  population.)  begging  from  door  to  door 
in  Scotland,  it  would  be  a  task  of  no  little  difficulty,  for  those  in  power,  to 
put  in  force  the  laws  against  the  Gipsies,  and  vagabonds  generally.  The 
editor  of  Dr.  Pennicuick’s  history  of  Tweed-dale,  thinks  Fletcher’s  is  an 
over-charged  picture.  Some  are  of  opinion  that,  when  he  made  his  state¬ 
ment,  he  included  the  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Scottish  Border, 
and  also  those  in  the  north  of  Scotland  ;  for,  he  said,  the  Highlands  “  was  an 
inexhaustible  source  of  beggars,”  and  wished  these  banditti  transplanted 
to  the  low  country,  and  to  people  the  Highlands  from  hence. 

J  The  records  in  which  this  order  is  contained  are  lost. 


113 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


pehial  law,  by  statute  1609,  cap.  13,  with  this  farther  conve¬ 
nient,  but  very  severe,  provision  toward  the  more  effectual 
execution  of  the  order,  that  it  should  be  lawful  to  condemn 
and  execute  them  to  the  death,  upon  proof  made  of  the  single 
fact  ‘  that  they  are  called,  known,  repute  and  holden  Egyp¬ 
tians’  !”  As  this  is  the  only  statute  exclusively  relating  to, 
and  denouncing,  the  Gipsies,  I  shall  give  it  at  length. 

“  13.  Act  anent  the  Egyptians.  Our  sovereign  lord  and 
estates  of  parliament  ratify,  approve,  and  perpetually  con¬ 
firm  the  act  of  secret  council,  made  in  the  month  of  Juue  or 
thereby,  1603  years,  and  proclamation  following  thereupon, 
commanding  the  vagabonds,  sorners  (forcible  obtruders),  and 
common  thieves,  commonly  called  Egyptians,  to  pass  forth 
of  this  kingdom,  and  remain  perpetually  forth  thereof,  and 
never  to  return  within  the  same,  under  pain  of  death  ;  and 
that  the  same  have  force  and  execution  after  the  first  day 
of  August  next  to  come.  After  the  which  time,  if  any  of 
the  said  vagabonds,  called  Egyptians,  as  well  women  as 
men,  shall  be  found  within  this  kingdom,  or  any  part  there¬ 
of,  it  shall  be  lawful  to  all  his  majesty’s  good  subjects,  or 
any  one  of  them,  to  cause  take,  apprehend,  imprison,  and 
execute  to  death  the  said  Egyptians,  either  men  or  women, 
as  common,  notorious,  and  condemned  thieves,  by  one  assize 
only  to  be  tried,  that  they  are  called,  known,  repute  and 
holden  Egyptians  :  In  the  which  cause,  whosoever  of  the 
assize  happen  to  clenge  (exculpate)  any  of  the  aforesaid 
Egyptians  pannelled,  as  said  is,  shall  be  pursued,  handled 
and  censured  as  committers  of  wilful  error  :  And  whoever 
shall,  any  time  thereafter,  reset,  receive,  supply,  or  entertain 
any  of  the  said  Egyptians,  either  men  or  women,  shall  lose 
their  escheat,  and  be  warded  at  the  judge’s  will :  And  that 
the  sheriffs  and  magistrates,  in  whose  bounds  they  shall  pub¬ 
licly  and  avowedly  resort  and  remain,  be  called  before  the 
lords  of  his  highness’  secret  council,  and  severely  censured 
and  punished  for  their  negligence  in  execution  of  this  act : 
Discharging  all  letters,  protections,  and  warrants  whatsoever, 
purchased  by  the  said  Egyptians,  or  any  of  them,  from  his 
majesty  or  lords  of  secret  council,  for  their  remaining  within 
this  realm,  as  surreptitiously  and  deceitfully  obtained  by 
their  knowledge :  Annulling  also  all  warrants  purchased, 
or  hereafter  to  be  purchased,  by  any  subject  of  whatsoever 
rank  within  this  kingdom,  for  their  reset,  entertaining,  or 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


113 


doing  any  manner  of  favour  to  the  said  Egyptians,  at  any 
time  after  the  said  tirst  day  of  August  next  to  come,  for  now 
and  ever.”*  In  a  subsequent  enactment,  in  1617,  appoint¬ 
ing  justices  of  the  peace  and  constables,  the  destruction  of 
the  proscribed  Egyptians  is  particularly  enjoined,  in  defin¬ 
ing  the  different  duties  of  the  magistrates  and  their  peace 
officers.! 

But  so  little  respected  was  the  authority  of  the  govern¬ 
ment,  that  in  1612,  three  years  after  the  passing  of  the 
Gipsy  act,  his  majesty  was  under  the  humiliating  necessity 
of  entering  into  a  contract  with  the  clan  Scott,  and  their 
friends,  by  which  the  clan  bound  themselves  “  to  give  up  all 
bands  of  friendship,  kindness,  oversight,  maintenance  or  as¬ 
surance,  if  any  we  have,  with  common  thieves  and  broken 
clans,  &c.”  It  is  certain  there  would  be  many  bonds  of  the 
same  nature  with  other  turbulent  clans  throughout  the  king¬ 
dom.  That  Scotchmen  of  respectability  and  influence  pro¬ 
tected  the  Gipsies,  and  afforded  them  shelter  on  their  lands, 
after  the  promulgation  of  the  cruel  statute  of  1609,  is  mani¬ 
fest  from  the  following  passages,  which  I  extract  from  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine,  for  1817  ;  the  conductor  of  which  seems 
to  have  been  careful  in  examining  the  public  records  for  the 
documents  quoted  by  him  ;  having  been  guided  in  his  re¬ 
searches,  I  believe,  by  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

“In  February,  1615,  we  find  a  remission  under  the  privy 
seal,  granted  to  William  Auchterlony,  of  Cayrine,  for  re¬ 
setting  of  John  Faw  and  his  followers.^  On  the  14th  July, 
1616,  the  sheriff  of  Forfar  is  severely  reprimanded  for  delay¬ 
ing  to  execute  some  Gipsies,  who  had  been  taken  within  his 
jurisdiction,  and  for  troubling  the  council  writh  petitions  in 
their  behalf.  In  November  following  appears  a  proclama¬ 
tion  against  Egyptians  and  their  resetters.  In  December, 
1619,  we  find  another  proclamation  against  resetters  of  them  ; 

*  Glendook’s  Scots  Act.  f  lb. 

t  The  nature  of  this  crime  in  Scotch  law  is  fully  explained  in  the  follow¬ 
ing  extract  from  the  original,  which  also  appears  curious  in  other  respects. 
The  pardon  is  granted  “  pro  receptione,  supportatione,  et  detentione  supra 
terra  suas  de  Belmadie,  et  infra  eius  habitations  domum,  aliaq.  edificia 
eiusdem,  Joann  in  Fall,  Ethiopia,  lie  Egiptian,  eiusq.  uxoris,  puerorum,  ser- 
vorum  et  associatorum ;  Necnon  pro  ministrando  ipsis  cibum,  potum,  pecn- 
nias,  hospicium,  aliaq.  necessaria,  quocunq.  tempore  vel  oecasioue  preterita, 
contra  acta  nostri  Parliamenti  vel  secreti  concilii.  vel  contra  quecunq.  leges, 
alia  acta,  nut  constitutiones  liuius  nostri  regni  Scotia  in  contrarium  facta. 
1  legist,  secreti  sigilli  vol.  lxxxiii,  fol.  291,  Blackwood’ a  Magazine. — Ei>. 


114 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


in  April,  1620,  another  proclamation  of  the  same  kind,  and 
in  July,  1620,  a  commission  against  resetters,  all  with  very 
severe  penalties.  The  nature  of  these  acts  will  be  better 
understood  from  the  following  extract  from  that  of  the  4th 
July,  1616,  which  also  very  well  explains  the  way  in  which 
the  Gipsies  contrived  to  maintain  their  footing  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  in  deiiancc  of  all  the  efforts  of  the  legislature  to  extir¬ 
pate  them.”  “  It  is  of  truth  that  the  thieves  and  limmers 
(scoundrels),  aforesaid,  having  for  some  short  space  after  the 
said  act  of  parliament,  (1609,)  .  .  .  dispersed  them¬ 

selves  in  certain  secret  and  obscure  places  of  the  country.  . 
they  were  not  known  to  wander  abroad  in  troops  and  com¬ 
panies,  according  to  their  accustomed  manner,  yet,  shortly 
thereafter,  finding  that  the  said  act  of  parliament  was  neg¬ 
lected,  and  that  no  enquiry  nor  .  .  .  was  made  for 

them,  they  began  to  take  new  breath  and  courage,  and  .  . 

unite  themselves  in  infamous  companies  and  societies,  under 
.  .  .  .  commanders,  and  continually  since  then  have  re¬ 

mained  within  the  country,  committing  as  well  open  and 
avowed  rieffis  (robberies)  in  all  parts  ....  murders, 
.  .  .  pleine  stouthe  (common  theft,)  and  pickery,  where 

they  may  not  be  mastered  ;  and  they  do  shamefully  and  mis¬ 
chievously  abuse  the  simple  and  ignorant  people,  by  telling 
fortunes,  and  using  charms,  and  a  number  of  juggling  tricks 
and  falseties,  unworthy  to  be  heard  of  in  a  country  subject 
to  religion,  law,  and  justice  ;  and  they  are  encouraged  to 
remain  within  the  country,  and  to  continue  in  their  thievish 
and  juggling  tricks  and  falseties,  not  only  through  default 
of  the  execution  of  the  said  act  of  parliament,  but,  what  is 
worse,  that  great  numbers  of  his  majesty’s  subjects,  of  whom 
some  outwardly  pretend  to  be  famous  and  unspotted  gentle¬ 
men,  have  given  and  give  open  and  avowed  protection,  reset, 
supply  and  maintainance,  upon  their  grounds  and  lands,  to 
the  said  vagabonds,  sorners,  (forcible  obtruders,)  and  con¬ 
demned  thieves  and  limmers.  (scoundrels,)  and  suffer  them  to 
remain  days,  weeks,  and  months  together  thereupon,  without 
controulment,  and  with  connivance  and  oversight,  &c.”  “  So 
they  do  leave  a  foul,  infamous,  and  ignominious  spot  upon 
them,  their  houses,  and  posterity,  that  they  are  patrons  to 
thieves  and  limmers ,  (scoundrels,)”  <fcc.* 

*  The  same  state  of  things  existed  in  Spain.  Charles  II,  passed  a  law 
on  the  12th  June,  1695,  the  16th  article  of  which,  as  given  by  Mr.  Borrow, 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


115 


Fiom  their  first  arrival  in  the  country  till  1579,  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  as  already  mentioned,  appear  to  have  been  treated  as  a 
separate  people,  observing  their  own  laws  and  customs.  In 
the  year  1587,  such  was  the  state  of  society  in  Scotland, 
that  laws  were  passed  by  James  VI,  compelling  all  the 
baronial  proprietors  of  lands,  chiefs  and  captains  of  clans, 
on  the  Borders  and  Highlands  of  Scotland,  to  find  pledges 
and  securities  for  the  peaceable  conduct  of  their  retainers, 
tenants,  clansmen,  and  other  inhabitants  of  their  respective 
estates  and  districts.*  In  the  same  parliament  another  act 
was  passed,  allowing  vagabonds  and  broken  and  unpledged 
men  to  produce  pledges  and  securities  for  their  good  con¬ 
duct.  The  Gipsies,  under  these  statutes,  would  remain  un¬ 
molested,  as  they  would  readily  find  protection  by  becoming, 
nominally,  clansmen,  and  assuming  the  surnames,  of  those 
chieftains  and  noblemen  who  were  willing  and  able  to  afford 
them  protection. t  Indeed,  the  act  allowing  vagabonds  to 
find  sureties  would  include  the  Gipsy  bands,  for,  about  this 

enacts :  “  And  because  we  understand  that  the  continuance  of  those  who 
are  called  Gitanos  has  depended  on  the  favour,  protection,  and  assistance 
which  they  have  experienced  from  persons  of  different  stations,  wc  do  ordain 
that  whosoever  against  whom  shall  be  proved  the  fact  of  having,  since  the 
day  of  the  publication  hereof,  favoured,  received,  or  assisted  the  said 
Gitanos,  in  any  manner  whatever,  whether  within  their  houses  or  without, 
provided  he  is  a  noble,  shall  be  subjected  to  the  tine  of  six  thousand  ducats, 
.  ,  .  .  and  if  a  plebeian,  to  a  punishment  of  ten  years  in  the  galleys” 

Such  an  enactment  would  surely  prove  that  the  Gipsies  in  Spain  were 
greatly  favoured  by  the  Spanish  people  generally,  even  two  centuries  after 
they  entered  the  country. 

The  causes  to  which  may  be  attributed  this  toleration,  even  encourage¬ 
ment,  of  the  Gipsies,  are  various.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  a  fear 
of  consequences  to  person  and  property,  tinkering,  trafficking  and  amuse¬ 
ment,  and  corruption  on  the  part  of  those  in  power.  But  in  the  character 
of  tho  Gipsies  itself  may  be  found  a  general  cause  for  their  escaping  the 
effects  of  the  laws  passed  against  them,  viz.,  wheedling.  The  term  Gitano 
has  been  variously  modified  in  the  Spanish  language,  thus: 

Gitano,  Gipsy,  flatterer  ;  Gitanillo,  a  little  Gipsy;  Gitanismo,  the.  Gipsy 
tribe  ;  Gitanesco,  Gipsy-like  ;  Gitanear,  to  flatter,  entice  ;  Gitaneria,  wheed¬ 
ling,  fatter y  ;  Gitanamente,  in  a  sly,  winning  manner  ;  Gitanada,  blandish¬ 
ment,  wheedling,  fatten/. — Ed. 

*  There  were  17  clans  on  the  Borders,  and  34  clans  in  the  Highlands, 
who  appear  to  have  had  chiefs  and  captains  over  them.  There  were  22 
baronial  proprietors  connected  with  the  Borders,  and  106  connected  with 
the  Highlands,  named  in  a  roll,  who  were  likewise  ordered  to  find  pledges. 
— G'cudook's  Scots  Acts. 

f  It  sometimes  happened,  when  an  internal  quarrel  took  place  in  a  elan, 
portions  of  the  tribe  left  their  chief,  and  united  themselves  to  another,  whose 
name  they  assumed  and  dropped  their  original  one. 


116 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


period,  they  poem  to  have  been  only  classed  with  our  own 
native  vagabonds,  moss-troopers,  Border  and  Highland 
thieves,  broken  elans  and  masterless  men.  It  appears  by 
the  act  of  1609,  that  the  Gipsies  had  even  purchased  their 
protection  from  the  government.  The  inhabitants  of  Scot¬ 
land  being  at  this  period  still  divided  into  clans,  would 
greatly  facilitate  the  escape  of  the  Gipsies  from  the  laws 
passed  against  them.  The  clans  on  the  Borders  and  High¬ 
lands  were  in  a  state  of  almost  constant  warfare  with  one 
another  ;  and  frequently  several  of  the  clans  were  united  in 
opposition  to  the  regular  government  of  the  country,  to 
whose  mandates  they  paid  little  or  no  regard.  The  Gipsies 
had  no  settled  residence,  but  roamed  from  place  to  place 
over  the  whole  country  ;  and  when  they  found  themselves 
in  danger  in  one  place,  they  had  no  more  to  do  but  remove 
into  the  district  inhabited  by  a  hostile  clan,  where  they 
would  immediately  find  protection.  Besides,  the  Borderers 
and  Highlanders,  themselves  plunderers  and  thieves,  would 
not  be  very  active  in  apprehending  their  brother  thieves, 
the  Gipsies.  Even,  according  to  Holinshed,  “  the  poison  of 
theft  and  robbery  pervaded  almost  all  classes  of  the  Scot¬ 
tish  community  about  this  period.” 

The  excessive  severity  of  the  sanguinary  statute  of  1609, 
and  the  unrelenting  manner  in  which  it  was  often  carried 
into  effect,  were  calculated  to  produce  a  great  outward 
change  on  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  Like  stags  selected  from  a 
herd  of  deer,  and  doomed  to  be  hunted  down  by  dogs,  these 
wanderers  were  now  singled  out,  and  separated  from  the 
community,  as  objects  to  whom  no  mercy  was  to  be  shown.* 
The  word  Egyptian  would  never  be  allowed  to  escape  their 
lips  ;  not  a  syllable  of  their  peculiar  speech  would  be  uttered, 
unless  in  the  midst  of  their  own  tribe.  It  is  also  highly 
probable  that  every  part  of  their  dress  by  which  their  fra¬ 
ternity  could  be  recognized,  would  be  carefully  discontinued. 
To  deceive  the  public,  they  would  also  conform  externally 
to  some  of  the  religious  rites,  ceremonies,  observances,  and 

*  The  reader  will  see  that  the  Gipsies,  at  this  time,  were  not  greater 
“  vagabonds”  than  great  numbers  of  native  Scotch,  if  as  great.  But,  being 
strangers  in  the  country,  sojourners  according  to  their  own  account,  the 
king  would  naturally  enough  banish  them,  as  they  seem  always  to  have 
been  saying  that  they  were  about  leaving  for  “  their  own  country.”  Their 
living  in  tents,  a  mode  of  life  so  different  from  that  of  the  natives,  would, 
of  itself,  make  them  obnoxious  to  the  king  personally. — Ed. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


117 


other  customs  of  the  natives  of  Scotland.  I  am  further  in¬ 
clined  to  think  that  it  would  be  about  this  period,  and  chiefly 
in  consequence  of  these  bloody  enactments,  the  Gipsies 
would,  in  general,  assume  the  ordinary  Christian  and  sur¬ 
names  common  at  that  time  in  Scotland.  And  their  usual 
sagacity  pointed  out  to  them  the  advantages  arising  from 
taking  the  cognomens  of  the  most  powerful  families  in 
the  kingdom,  whose  influence  would  afford  them  ample 
protection,  as  adopted  members  of  their  respective  clans. 
In  support  of  my  opinion  of  the  origin  of  the  surnames  of 
the  Gipsies  of  the  present  day,  we  find  that  the  most  pre¬ 
vailing  names  among  them  are  those  of  the  most  influential 
of  our  noble  families  of  Scotland  ;  such  as  Stewart,  Gordon, 
Douglas,  Graham,  Ruthven,  Hamilton,  Drummond,  Kennedy, 
Cunningham,  Montgomery,  Kerr,  Campbell,  Maxwell,  John¬ 
stone,  Ogilvie,  McDonald,  Robertson,  Grant,  Baillie,  Shaw, 
Burnet,  Brown,  Keith,  &c.*  If,  even  at  the  present  day, 
you  enquire  at  the  Gipsies  respecting  their  descent,  the 
greater  part  of  them  will  tell  you  that  they  are  sprung 
from  a  bastard  son  of  this  or  that  noble  family,  or  other 
person  of  rank  and  influence,  of  their  own  surname.t  This 
pretended  connexion  with  families  of  high  rank  and  power 
lias  saved  some  of  the  tribe  from  the  gallows  even  in  our  own 
time.  The  names,  however,  of  the  two  principal  families, 
Faw,  (now  Faa,)  and  Bailyow,  (now  Baillie,)  appear  not  to 
have  been  changed  since  the  date  of  the  order  in  council  or 
league  with  James  V,  in  the  year  1540,  as  both  of  these 
names  arc  inserted  in  that  document. 

Baron  Hume,  on  the  criminal  law  of  Scotland,  gives  the 


*  The  English  Gipsies  say  that  native  names  were  assumed  by  their 
race  in  consequence  of  the  proscription  to  which  it  was  subjected.  German 
Gipsies,  ou  arrival  in  America,  change,  at  least  modify,  their  names  there 
are  many  of  them  who  go  under  the  names  of  Smith,  Miller,  and  Wag¬ 
goner.  Jews  frequently  bear  names  common  to  the  natives  of  the  countries 
in  which  they  are  to  be  found,  and  sometimes,  at  the  piesent  day,  assume 
Christian  ones.  I  knew,  two  German  Jews,  of  the  name  of  Cohen,  who 
settled  in  Scotland.  One  of  them,  who  was  a  priest,  retained  the  original 
name  ;  but  the  other,  who  was  a  watchmaker,  assumed  the  name  of  Cowan, 
which,  singularly  enough,  the  priest  said,  was  a  corruption  of  Cohen. — El>. 

f  It  is  stated  by  Paget,  in  his  Travels  in  Hungary,  that  the  Gipsies  in 
that  country  have  a  profound  regard  for  aristocracy  ;  and  that  they  inva¬ 
riably  follow  that  class  in  the  matter  of  religious  opinions.  Grellmann 
says  as  much  in  regard  to  the  Gipsy’s  desire  of  getting  hold  of  a  distin¬ 
guished  old  coat  to  put  on  his  person. — Ed. 


118 


A  niS TORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


following  account  of  some  of  the  trials  and  executions  of 
the  Gipsies  : 

“  The  statute  (1609)  annuls  at  the  same  time  all  protection 
and  warrants  purchased  by  the  Egyptians  from  his  majesty’s 
privy  council,  for  their  remaining  within  the  realm  ;  as  also 
all  privileges  purchased  by  any  person  to  reset,  entertain,  or 
do  them  any  favour.  It  appears,  indeed,  from  a  paper  in 
the  appendix  to  McLaurin’s  Cases,  that  even  the  king’s  ser¬ 
vants  and  great  officers  had  not  kept  their  hands  entirely 
pure  of  this  sort  of  treaty  with  the  Egyptian  chiefs,  from 
whom  some  supply  of  money  might  in  this  way  be  occasion¬ 
ally  obtained. 

“  The  first  Gipsies  that  were  brought  to  trial  on  the 
statute,  were  four  persons  of  the  name  of  Faa,  who,  on  the 
31st  July,  1611,  were  sentenced  to  be  hanged.  They  had 
pleaded  upon  a  special  license  from  the  privy  council,  to 
abide  within  the  country  ;  but  this  appearing  to  be  clogged 
with  a  condition  of  finding  surety  for  their  appearance 
when  called  on,  and  their  surety  being  actually  at  the  horn, 
for  failure  to  present  themselves,  they  were  held  to  have  in¬ 
fringed  the  terms  of  their  protection. 

“  The  next  trial  Avas  on  the  19th  and  24th  July,  1616,  in 
the  case  of  other  two  Faas  and  a  Baillie,  (which  seem  to 
have  been  noted  names  among  the  Gipsies  ;)  and  here  was 
started  that  plea  which  has  since  been  repeated  in  almost 
every  case,  but  has  always  been  overruled,  viz  :  that  the  act 
and  proclamation  were  temporary  ordinances,  and  applicable 
only  to  such  Egyptians  as  Avere  in  the  country  at  their  date. 
These  pannels,  upon  conviction,  were  ordered  by  the  privy 
council  to  find  caution  to  the  extent  of  1,000  merles,  to  leave 
Scotland  and  never  to  return  ;  and  having  failed  to  comply 
with  this  injunction,  they  were  in  consequence  condemned  to 
die. 

“  In  January,  1624,  follows  a  still  more  severe  example  ; 
no  feAver  than  eight  men,  among  whom  Captain  John  Faa 
and  other  five  of  the  name  of  Faa,  being  convicted,  were 
doomed  to  death  on  the  statute.  Some  days  after,  there 
Avere  brought  to  trial  Helen  Faa,  relict  of  Captain  Faa, 
Lucretia  Faa,  and  other  women  to  the  number  of  eleven  ;  all 
of  whom  were  in  like  manner  convicted,  and  condemned  to 
be  drowned !  But,  in  the  end,  their  doom  was  commuted 
for  banishment,  (under  pain  of  death,)  to  them  and  all  their 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


119 


race.  The  sentence  was,  however,  executed  on  the  male 
convicts  ;  and  it' appears  that  the  terror  of  their  fate  had 
been  of  material  service  ;  as,  for  the  space  of  more  than  50 
years  from  that  time,  there  is  no  trial  of  an  Egyptian.” 

But  notwithstanding  this  statement  of  Baron  Ilume,  of 
the  Gipsy  trials  having  ceased  for  half  a  century,  we  find, 
twelve  years  after  1024,  the  date  of  the  above  trials,  the 
following  order  of  the  privy  council  :  “Anent  some  Egyptians. 
At  Edinburgh,  10th  November,  1636.  Forasmuch  as  Sir 
Arthur  Douglas  of  Quhittinghame  having  lately  taken  and 
apprehended  some  of  the  vagabond  and  counterfeit  thieves 
and  limmers,  (scoundrels,)  called  the  Egyptians,  he  presented 
and  delivered  them  to  the  sheriff  principal  of  the  sheriffdom 
of  Edinburgh,  within  the  constabulary  of  Haddington, 
where  they  have  remained  this  month  or  thereby  :  and 
whereas  the  keeping  of  them  longer,  within  the  said  tolbooth, 
is  troublesome  and  burdensome  to  the  town  of  Haddington, 
and  fosters  the  said  thieves  in  an  opinion  of  impunity,  to 
the  encouraging  of  the  rest  of  that  infamous  bylce  (hive)  of 
lawless  limmers  (scoundrels)  to  continue  in  their  thievish 
trade :  Therefore  the  lords  of  secret  council  ordain  the 
sheriff  of  Haddington,  or  his  deputies,  to  pronounce  doom 
and  sentence  of  death  against  so  many  of  these  counterfeit 
thieves  as  are  men,  and  against  so  many  of  the  women  as 
want  children  ;  ordaining  the  men  to  be  hanged,  and  the 
women  to  be  drowned  ;  and  that  such  of  the  women  as  have 
children,  to  be  scourged  through  the  burgh  of  Haddington, 
and  burned  in  the  check  ;  and  ordain  and  command  the 
provost  and  baillies  of  Haddington  to  cause  this  doom  be 
executed  upon  the  said  persons  accordingly.”* 

“  Towards  the  end  of  that  century,”  continues  Baron 
Hume,  “  the  nuisance  seems  to  have  again  become  trouble¬ 
some.  On  the  13th  of  December,  1698,  John  Baillie  and 
six  men  more  of  the  same  name,  along  with  the  wife  of  one 
of  them,  were  indicted  as  Egyptians,  and  also  for  sundry 
special  misdeeds  ;  and  being  convicted,  (all  but  the  woman,) 
they  were  ordered  for  execution.  But  in  this  case  it  is  to 
be  remarked,  that  the  court  had  so  far  departed  from  the 
rigour  of  the  statute  as  not  to  sustain  a  relevancy  on  the 
habit  and  repute  of  being  an  Egyptian  of  itself,  but  only 
‘  along  with  one  or  other  of  the  facts  of  picking  and  little 

*  Blackwood'n  Magazine. 


120 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


thieving;’  thus  requiring  some  proof  of  actual  guilt  in  aid 
of  the  fame.  In  the  next  trial,  which  was  that  of  William 
Baillie,  June  26th,  1699,  a  still  further  indulgence  was  in¬ 
troduced  ;  for  the  interlocutor  required  a  proof,  not  of  one 
only,  but  of  several,  of  the  facts  of  1  picking  or  little  thieving, 
or  of  several  acts  of  beating  and  striking  with  invasive 
weapons.’  He  was  only  convicted  as  an  Egyptian,  and  of 
one  act  of  striking  with  an  invasive  weapon,  and  he  escaped 
in  consequence  with  his  life. 

“  This  lenient  course  of  dealing  with  the  Gipsies  was  not 
taken,  however,  from  any  opinion  of  it  as  a  necessary  thing, 
nor  was  there  any  purpose  of  prescribing  it  as  a  rule  for 
other  times,  or  for  further  cases  of  the  kind  where  such  an 
indulgence  might  seem  improper,  as  appears  from  the  inter¬ 
locutor  of  relevancy  in  the  case  of  John  Kerr,  and  Helen 
Yorkston,  and  William  Baillie  and  other  seven  ;  in  both  of 
which  the  simple  fame  and  character  of  being  an  Egyptian 
is  again  found  separatum  relevant  to  infer  the  pain  of  death, 
(10th  and  11th  August,  1714.)  Kerr  and  Yorkston  had  a 
verdict  in  their  favour ;  Baillie  and  two  of  his  associates 
were  condemned  to  die  ;  but  as  far  as  concerns  Baillie,  (for 
the  others  were  executed,)  his  doom  was  afterwards  mitigated 
into  transportation,  under  pain  of  death  in  case  of  return. 

“As  early  as  the  month  of  August,  1715,  the  same  man,  (as 
I  understand  it,)  was  again  indicted,  not  only  for  being 
found  in  Britain,  but  for  continuing  his  former  practices  and 
course  of  life.  Notwithstanding  this  aggravation,  the  inter¬ 
locutor  is  again  framed  on  the  indulgent  plan,  and  only  in¬ 
fers  the  pain  of  death,  from  the  fame  and  character  of  being 
an  Egyptian,  joined  with  various  acts  of  violence  and  sorn- 
ing,  to  the  number  of  three,  that  are  stated  in  the  libel. 
Though  convicted  nearly  to  the  extent  of  the  interlocutor, 
he  again  escaped  with  transportation.* 

“  Nor  have  I  observed  that  the  court,  in  any  later  case, 
have  thought  it  necessary  to  proceed  upon  the  repute  alone, 
unavouched  by  evidence  of,  at  least,  one  act  of  theft  or  vio¬ 
lence  ;  so  that,  upon  the  whole,  according  to  the  practice  of 
later  times,  this  sort  of  charge  seems  to  be  reduced  nearly 
to  the  level  of  the  charge  of  being  habit  and  repute  a  thief 
at  common  law.” 

*  This,  and  part  of  the  preceding  paragraph,  will  be  quoted  again,  under 
the  chapter  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale  Gipsies. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


121 


It  is  noticed  by  Baron  Hume  that  the  Faas  and  the  Bail- 
lies  were  noted  names  among  the  Gipsies.  Indeed,  the 
trials  referred  to  by  him  are  all  of  persons  bearing  these  two 
surnames,  except  two  individuals  only.  The  truth  is,  the 
Faas  and  the  Baillies  were  the  two  principal  families  among 
the  Gipsies  ;  giving,  according  to  their  customs,  kings  and 
queens  to  their  countrymen  in  Scotland.  They  would  be 
more  bold,  daring,  and  presumptuous  in  their  conduct  than 
the  most  part  of  their  followers  ;  and,  being  leaders  of  the 
banditti,  government,  in  all  probability,  would  fix  upon  them 
as  the  most  proper  objects  for  destruction,  as  the  best  and 
easiest  method  of  overawing  and  dispersing  the  whole  tribe 
in  the  country,  by  cutting  off  their  chiefs.  As  I  have  already 
mentioned,  these  two  principal  clans  of  Faw  and  Bailyow 
appear  to  be  the  only  Gipsy  families  in  Scotland  who  have 
retained  the  original  surnames  of  their  ancestors,  at  least  of 
those  whose  names  are  inserted  in  the  treaty  with  James  V, 
in  1540. 

It  will  be  seen,  under  the  head  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale 
Gipsies,  that  tradition  has  represented  William  Baillie,  who 
was  tried  in  1714  and  1715,  as  a  bastard  son  of  the  ancient 
family  of  Lamington,  (his  mother  being  a  Gipsy).  It  appears 
to  me  that  the  Gipsy  policy  of  joining  themselves  to  some 
family  of  rank  was,  in  Baillie’s  case,  of  very  important  ser¬ 
vice,  not  only  to  himself  but  to  the  whole  tribe  in  Scotland.* 

*  From  the  time  of  arrival  of  the  Gipsies  in  the  country,  in  1506,  till 
1611,  the  date  of  the  first  trials  of  the  tribe,  as  given  by  Baron  Hume,  a 
period  of  105  years  had  elapsed  ;  during  which  time  there  had  doubtless 
been  five  generations  of  Gipsies  added  to  the  population,  as  Scottish  subjects ; 
to  put  whom  to  deatli,  on  the  mere  ground  of  being  Egyptians,  was  con¬ 
trary  to  every  principle  of  natural  justice.  The  cruelty  exercised  upon 
them  was  quite  in  keeping  with  that  of  reducing  to  slavery  the  individuals, 
and  their  descendants,  who  constituted  the  colliers,  coal-bearers,  and  salters 
referred  to  in  the  following  interesting  note,  to  be  found  in  “  Schools 
and  Schoolmasters,”  of  Hugh  Miller. 

“  The  act  for  manumitting  our  Scotch  colliers  was  passed  in  the  year 
1775,  forty-nine  years  prior  to  the  date  of  my  acquaintance  with  the  class  of 
Niddry.  But  though  it  was  only  such  colliers  of  the  village  as  were  in 
their  fiftieth  year  when  I  knew  them,  (with,  of  course,  all  the  older  ones,) 
who  had  been  born  slaves,  even  its  men  of  thirty  had  actually,  though  not 
nominally,  come  into  the  world  in  a  state  of  bondage,  in  consequence  of 
certain  penalties  attached  to  the  emancipation  act,  of  which  the  poor  igno¬ 
rant  workers  under  ground  were  both  too  improvident  and  too  little  inge¬ 
nious  to  keep  clear.  They  were  set  free,  however,  by  a  second  act  passed 
in  1799.  The  language  of  both  these  acts,  regarded  as  British  ones  of  the 
latter  half  of  the  last  century,  and  as  bearing  reference  to  British  subjects 

G 


122 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  extraordinary  lenity  shown  to  him  by  the  court,  after 
such  repeated  aggravation,  cannot  be  accounted  for  in  any 
other  way  than  that  great  interest  had  been  used  in  his  be¬ 
half.  in  some  quarter  or  other  ;  and  that,  by  creating  a  mer¬ 
ciful  precedent  in  his  case,  it  was  afterwards  followed  in  the 
trial  of  all  others  of  the  race  in  Scotland. 

liv'ng  within  the  limits  of  the  island,  strikes  with  startling  effect.  *  Where¬ 
as,’  says  the  preamble  of  the  older  act. — that  of  1 775- — ‘  by  the  statute  law  of 
Scotland,  as  explained  by  the  judges  of  the  courts  of  law  there,  many  col¬ 
liers,  and  coal-bearers,  and  sailers,  are  in  a  state  of  slavery  or  bondage , 
bound  to  t!  e  collieries  or  salt  works,  where  they  work /or  life ,  transferable 
with  the  collieries  or  salt  works  ;  and  whereas,  the  emancipation.’  Ac,,  Ac.  A 
passage  in  the  preamble  of  the  act  of  1799  is  scarcely  less  striking:  it  de¬ 
clares  that,  not  withstanding  the  former  act,  ‘  many  colliers  and  coal-bearers 
still  continue  in  a  slate  of  bondage’  in  Scotland.  The  history  of  our  Scotch 
colliers  would  be  found  a  curious  and  instructive  one.  Their  slavery  seems 
not  to  have  been  derived  from  the  ancient  time  of  general  serfship,  but  to 
have  originated  in  comparatively  modern  acts  of  the  Scottish  Parliament, 
and  in  decisions  of  the  Court  of  Session — in  acts  of  Parliament  in  which 
the  poor  ignorant  subterranean  men  of  the  country  were,  of  course,  wholly 
unrepresented,  and  in  decisions  of  a  court  in  which  no  agent  of  theirs  ever 
made  appearance  in  their  behalf.” 

What  is  here  said  of  a  history  of  Scotch  colliers  being  “  curious  and  in¬ 
structive,”  is  applicable  in  an  infinitely  greater  degree  to  that  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies. — En. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES.* 


The  Gipsies  who  frequented  the  banks  of  the  Forth,  and 
the  counties  northward,  appear  to  have  been  more  daring 
than  those  who  visited  some  other  parts  of  Scotland. 

Within  these  sixty  years,  a  large  horde,  of  very  desperate 
character,  resided  on  the  banks  of  the  Avon,  near  the  burgh 
of  Linlithgow.  At  first,  they  quartered  higher  up  on  the 
Stirling  side  of  the  stream,  at  a  place  called  Walkmilton  ; 
but  latterly  they  took  up  their  abode  in  some  old  houses,  on 
the  Linlithgow  side  of  the  river,  at  or  near  the  bridge  of 
Linlithgow. 

These  Gipsies  displayed  much  sagacity  in  carrying  on  their 
trade,  by  selecting  the  neighbourhood  of  Falkirk  and  Lin¬ 
lithgow  for  their  headquarters,  as  this  was,  perhaps,  the  most 
advantageous  position  in  all  Scotland  that  a  Gipsy  band 
could  occupy.  The  district  was  of  itself  very  populous,  and 
a  very  considerable  trade  and  bustle  then  existed  at  the  port 
of  Bo’ness,  in  the  vicinity.  All  the  intercourse  between 
Edinburgh  and  Glasgow  passed  a  few  miles  to  the  south  of 
their  quarters.  The  traffic,  by  carts,  between  Glasgow  and 
the  west  of  Scotland,  and  the  shipping  at  Carron-shore,  El- 
phingston-Pow  and  Airth,  on  the  Forth,  before  the  canal  was 
cut,  was  immense  ;  all  which  traffic,  as  well  as  that  between 
Fife  and  the  western  districts,  passed  a  few  miles  north  of 

*  This  and  the  following  three  chapters  are  illustrative  of  the  Gipsies,  in 
their  wild  state,  previous  to  their  gradual  settlement  and  civilization,  and 
are  applicable  to  the  same  class  in  every  part  of  the  world.  Chapter  VI, 
on  the  Gipsies  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale,  might  have  been  taken  the 
first  in  order,  as  descriptive  of  the  tribe  in  its  more  primitive  condition, 
but  I  have  allowed  it  to  remain  where  it  stands.  A  description  of  the 
habits  peculiar  to  the  race  will  be  found,  more  or  less,  in  all  of  these  chap¬ 
ters,  where  they  can  be  consulted,  for  the  better  identification  of  the  facts 
given. — Ed. 


(123) 


124 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


their  position.  The  road  for  travellers  and  cattle  from  the 
Highlands,  by  way  of  Stirling,  crossed  the  above-mentioned 
roads,  and  led,  through  Falkirk  and  Linlithgow,  to  Edin¬ 
burgh,  the  eastern  and  southern  counties  of  Scotland,  and 
England. 

The  principal  surnames  of  this  Gipsy  band  were  McDon¬ 
ald,  Jamieson,  Wilson,  Gordon  andLundie.  Frequently  the 
number  that  would  assemble  together  would  amount  to  up¬ 
wards  of  thirty  souls,  and  it  was  often  observed  that  a  great 
many  females  and  children  were  seen  loitering  about  their 
common  place  of  residence.  No  protection  was  given  by 
them  to  our  native  vagrants,  nor  were  any  of  our  common 
plunderers,  vagabonds,  or  outlaws  suffered  to  remain  among 
them.  When  at  home,  or  traversing  the  country,  the  trade 
and  occupation  of  this  band  were  exactly  the  same  as  those 
of  their  friends  in  other  parts  of  Scotland,  viz  :  making  wool- 
cards,  cast-iron  soles  for  ploughs,  smoothing-h-ons,  horn 
spoons,  and  repairing  articles  in  the  tinker  line.  The  old 
females  told  fortunes,  while  the  women  in  general  assisted 
their  husbands  in  their  work,  by  blowing  the  bellows,  scrap¬ 
ing  and  polishing  the  spoons  with  glass  and  charred  wood, 
and  otherwise  completing  their  articles  for  sale.  Many  of 
the  males  dealt  in  horses,  with  which  they  frequented  fairs 
— that  great  resort  of  the  Gipsies  ;  and  these  wanderers,  in 
general,  were  considered  excellent  judges  of  horses.  Num¬ 
bers  of  them  were  fiddlers  and  pipers,  and  the  tribe  often 
amused  themselves  with  feasting  and  dancing.* 

Like  their  race  generally,  these  Gipsies  were  extremely 
civil  and  obliging  to  their  immediate  neighbours,  and  those 
who  lived  nearest  to  their  quarters,  and  had  the  most  inter¬ 
course  with  them,  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  were  the 
least  afraid  of  them.f  But  the  farmers  and  others  at  a  dis- 

*  It  appears  that,  at  this  period,  James  Wilson,  town-piper,  and  John 
Livingston,  hangman,  of  Linlithgow,  were  both  Gipsies.  [Formerly  the 
Gipsies  were  exclusively  employed  in  Hungary  and  Transylvania  as  hang¬ 
men  and  executioners.  Grellmann. — Ed.] 

f  This  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  is  well  illustrated  in 
the  following  anecdote,  which  appeared  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine.  It  was 
obtained  by  an  individual  who  frequently  heard  the  clergyman  in  question 
relate  it. 

“  The  late  Mr.  Leek,  minister  of  Yetholm,  happened  to  be  riding  home 
one  evening  from  a  visit  in  Northumberland,  when,  finding  himself  likely 
to  be  benighted,  for  sake  of  a  near  cut,  he  struck  into  a  wild,  solitary  track, 
or  drove -road,  across  the  fells,  by  a  place  called  the  Staw.  In  one  of  the 


LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


125 


tance,  who  frequented  the  markets  at  Falkirk,  and  other 
fairs  in  the  neighbourhood,  were  always  a  plentiful  harvest 
for  the  plundering  Tinklers.  Their  plunderings  on  such 
occasions  spread  a  general  alarm  over  the  country.  But 
that  good  humour,  mirth,  and  jocund  disposition,  peculiar  to 
many  of  the  males  of  the  Gipsies,  seldom  failed  to  gain  the 
good-will  of  those  who  deigned  to  converse  with  them  with 
familiarity,  or  treated  them  with  kindness.  They  even 
formed  strong  attachments  to  certain  individuals  of  the  com¬ 
munity,  and  afforded  them  protection  on  all  occasions,  giving 
them  tokens  to  present  to  others  of  their  fraternity,  while 
travelling  under  night.  Notwithstanding  the  good  disposi¬ 
tion  which  they  always  showed  under  these  circumstances, 
the  fiery  Tinklers  often  fell  out  among  themselves,  on  divid¬ 
ing,  at  home,  the  booty  which  they  had  collected  at  fairs, 
and  excited  feelings  of  horror  in  the  minds  of  their  aston¬ 
ished  neighbours,  when  they  beheld  the  hurricanes  of  wrath 
and  fury  exhibited  by  both  sexes,  and  all  ages,  in  the  heat 
of  their  battles. 

The  children  of  these  Gipsies  attended  the  principal  school 

derne  places  through  which  this  path  led  him,  there  stood  an  old  deserted 
shepherd’s  house,  which,  of  course,  was  reputed  to  be  haunted.  The  minis¬ 
ter,  though  little  apt  to  be  alarmed  by  such  reports,  was,  however,  some¬ 
what  startled  on  observing,  as  he  approached  close  to  the  cottage,  a ‘grim 
visage’  staring  out  past  a  t rindow  claith,  or  sort  of  curtain,  which  had  been 
fastened  up  to  supply  the  place  of  a  door,  and  also  several  ‘  dusky  figures,’ 
skulking  among  the  boui  tree-bushes  that  had  once  sheltered  the  shepherd’s 
garden.  Without  leaving  him  any  time  for  speculation,  however,  the  knight 
of  the  curtain  bolted  forth  upon  him,  and,  seizing  his  horse  by  the  bridle, 
demanded  his  money.  Mr.  Leek,  though  it  was  now  dark,  at  once  recog¬ 
nised  the  gruff  voice,  and  the  great,  black,  burly  head  of  his  next-door 
neighbour,  Gleid  Ncclcit  Will,  the  Gipsy  chief.  ‘  Dear  me,  William,’  said 
the  minister,  in  his  usual  quiet  manner,  ‘  can  this  be  you?  ye’re  surely  no 
serious  wi’  me  ?  ye  wadna  sae  far  wrang  your  character  for  a  good  neigh¬ 
bour,  for  the  bit  trifle  I  ha’e  to  gi’e,  William?’ — ‘  Lord  saif  us,  Mr.  Leek  !’ 
said  Will,  quitting  the  rein,  and  lifting  his  hat,  with  great  respect,  ‘  Whae 
wad  hae  thought  o’  meeting  3  011  out  owre  here-away  ?  Ye  needna  gripe 
for  ony  siller  to  me — I  wadna  touch  a  plack  o’  your  gear,  nor  a  hair  o’  j  our 
head,  for  a’  the  gowd  o’  Tividale.  I  ken  ye’ll  no  do  us  an  ill  turn  for  this 
mistak — and  I’ll  e’en  see  j-e  safe  through  the  eirie  Staw — it’s  no  reckoned  a 
very  canny  bit,  mair  ways  nor  ane  ;  but  I  wat  ye’ll  no  be  feared  for  the 
dead,  and  I’ll  tak  care  o’  the  living.’  Will  accordingly  gave  his  reverend 
friend  a  safe  convoy  through  the  haunted  pass,  and,  notwithstanding  this 
ugly  mistake,  continued  ever  after  an  inoffensive  and  obliging  neighbour  to 
the  minister,  who,  on  his  part,  observed  a  prudent  and  inviolable  secrecy- 
on  the  subject  of  this  rencounter,  during  the  life  time  of  Olcid  Nichit  Will." 

I  understand  this  anecdote  to  applj:  to  old  Will  Faa,  mentioned  in  the 
Border  Gipsies,  under  chapter  VII. — Ed. 


126 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


at  Linlithgow,  and  not  an  individual  at  tho  school  dared  to 
cast  the  slightest  reflection  on,  or  speak  a  disrespectful  word 
of,  either  them  or  their  parents,  although  their  robberies  were 
everywhere  notorious,  yet  always  conducted  in  so  artful  a 
manner  that  no  direct  evidence  could  ever  be  obtained  of 
them.  Such  was  the  fear  that  the  audacious  conduct  of 
these  Gipsies  inspired,  that  the  magistrates  of  the  royal 
burgh  of  Linlithgow  stood  in  awe  of  them,  and  were  deterred 
from  discharging  their  magisterial  duties,  when  any  matter 
relative  to  their  conduct  came  before  their  honours.  The 
truth  is,  the  magistrates  would  not  interfere  with  them  at  all, 
but  stood  nearly  on  the  same  terms  with  them  that  a  tribe 
of  American  Indians,  who  worshipped  the  devil — not  from 
any  respect  which  they  had  for  his  Satanic  majesty,  but  from 
being  in  constant  dread  of  his  diabolical  machinations.  Not 
a  justice  of  the  peace  gave  the  horde  the  least  annoyance, 
but,  on  the  contrary,  allowed  them  to  remain  in  peaceable 
possession  of  some  old,  uninhabited  houses,  to  which  they 
had  no  right  whatever.  Instead  of  endeavouring  to  repress 
the  unlawful  proceedings  of  the  daring  Tinklers,  numbers 
of  the  most  respectable  individuals  in  Linlithgowshire 
deigned  to  play  at  golf  and  other  games  with  the  principal 
members  of  the  body.  The  proficiency  which  the  Gipsies 
displayed  on  such  occasions  was  always  a  source  of  interest 
to  the  patrons  and  admirers  of  such  games.  At  throwing 
the  sledge-hammer,  casting  the  putting-stone,  and  all  other 
athletic  exercises,  not  one  was  a  match  for  these  powerful 
Tinklers.  They  were  also  remarkably  dexterous  at  hand¬ 
ling  the  cudgel,  at  which  they  were  constantly  practising 
themselves. 

The  honourable  magistrates,  indeed,  frequently  admitted 
the  presumptuous  Tinklers  to  share  a  social  bowl  with  them 
at  their  entertainments  and  dinner  parties.  Yet  these 
friends  and  companions  of  the  magistrates  and  gentlemen  of 
Linlithgowshire  were  no  other  than  the  occasional  tenants 
of  kilns,  or  temporary  occupiers  of  the  ground  floor  of  some 
ruinous,  half-roofed  houses,  without  furniture,  saving  a  few 
blankets  and  some  straw,  to  prevent  their  persons  from  rest¬ 
ing  upon  the  cold  earth.  But,  nevertheless,  these  Gipsies 
made  themselves  of  considerable  importance,  and  possessed 
an  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  community  to  an  extent 
hardly  to  be  credited  at  the  present  day.  It  was  well 


LIN  LI  TIIG  0  W SHIRE  GIPSIES. 


127 


known  that  the  provost  of  Linlithgow,  who  was  much  ex¬ 
posed  by  riding  at  all  times  through  the  country,  in  the  way 
of  his  business  as  a  brewer,  had  himself  received  from  the 
Gipsies  assurance  that  he  would  not  be  molested  by  the 
band,  and  that  he  was,  therefore,  at  all  times,  and  on  all  oc¬ 
casions,  perfectly  safe  from  being  plundered.  Having  in 
this  manner  rendered  the  local  authorities  entirely  passive, 
or  rather  neutral,  from  fear  and  interest,  the  audacious  Gip¬ 
sies  prosecuted  their  system  of  plunder  and  robbery  to  an 
alarming  extent. 

Notwithstanding  the  fear  which  these  Gipsies  inspired  in 
the  mind  of  the  community,  there  were  yet  individuals  of 
courage  who  would  brave  them,  if  circumstances  rendered  a 
meeting  with  them  unavoidable.  None,  indeed,  would  dream 
of  wantonly  molesting  them,  but,  if  brought  to  the  pinch, 
some  would  not  shrink  from  encountering  them,  when  acting 
under  the  influences  of  those  feelings  which  call  forth  the 
latent  courage  of  even  the  most  timid  and  considerate  of 
people.  Such  a  rencounter  resulted  in  the  death  of  the 
chief  of  the  Linlithgow  band,  of  the  name  of  McDonald,  to 
whom  the  others  of  the  tribe  gave  the  title  of  captain. 

In  a  dark  night,  a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  II - ,  an 

officer  in  the  army,  and  a  man  of  courage,  while  travelling 
on  the  highroad,  from  the  eastward  to  Stirlingshire,  to  visit, 
as  was  said,  his  sweetheart,  had  occasion  to  stop,  for  refresh¬ 
ment,  at  a  public-house  near  the  bridge  of  Linlithgow.  The 
landlord  advised  him  to  go  no  further  that  night,  owing  to 
the  road  being  “  foul,”  meaning  that  the  Tinklers  had  been 
seen  lurking  in  the  direction  in  which  he  was  travelling. 
Foul  or  not  foul,  he  would  proceed  ;  his  particular  engage¬ 
ment  with  the  lady  making  him  reluctant  to  break  his  pro¬ 
mise,  and  turn  back.  He  called  for  a  gill  of  brandy,  which 
he  shared  with  the  landlord,  and  deliberately  loaded,  in  his 
presence,  a  brace  of  pistols  which  he  carried  about  his  per¬ 
son.  His  courage  rose  with  the  occasion,  and  he  declared 
that  whoever  dared  to  molest  him  should  not  go  unpunished. 
He  then  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  forward.  On  arriving 
at  a  place  called  Sandy -ford-burn,  a  man,  in  the  dark,  sprang 
out  from  the  side  of  the  road,  and,  laying  hold  of  the  bridle 
of  his  horse,  demanded  his  money.  The  horseman  being  on 
the  alert,  and  quite  prepared  for  such  a  demand,  with  his 
spirits,  moreover,  elevated  by  his  dram  of  brandy,  instantly 


128 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


replied  by  firing  one  of  his  pistols  at  the  robber,  who  fell 
to  the  ground.  He,  however,  held  fast  the  bridle  reins  in 
his  convulsive  death  grasp,  and  the  horse,  being  urged  for¬ 
ward,  dragged  him  a  short  distance  along  the  ground. 
Hardly  had  the  shot  been  fired,  ere  a  voice,  close  by,  was 
heard  to  exclaim,  “  There  goes  our  captain,”  while  a  con¬ 
fused  cry  of  vengeance  was  uttered  on  all  sides,  against  him 
by  whom  lie  had  fallen.  But  the  rider,  clapping  his  spurs 
to  his  horse,  instantly  galloped  forward,  yet  made  a  narrow 
escape,  for  several  shots  were  fired  at  him,  which  Avere  heard 
by  the  landlord  of  the  public-house  which  he  had  just  left. 

The  Gipsies,  in  this  awkward  predicament,  carried  the 
body  of  their  chieftain  home,  and  gave  out  to  their  neigh¬ 
bours,  the  country  people,  the  following  morning,  (Sunday,) 
that  he  had  died  \rery  suddenly  of  iliac  passion.  His  lyke- 
Avake  Avas  kept  up  in  their  usual  manner,  and  great  feastings 
and  drinkings  were  held  by  them  Avhile  his  body  lay  unin¬ 
terred.  After  several  days  of  carousing,  the  remains  of  the 
robber  Avere  buried  in  the  church-yard  of  Linlithgow.*  His 
funeral  was  very  respectable,  having  been  attended  by  the 
magistrates  of  Linlithgow,  and  a  number  of  the  most  genteel 
persons  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  real  cause  of  the  sud¬ 
den  death  of  the  Tinkler  began  to  spread  abroad,  a  short 
time  after  the  burial,  but  no  enquiry  was  made  into  the  mat¬ 
ter.  The  individual  Avho  had  done  the  public  a  service,  by 
taking  off  the  chief  of  the  banditti,  mentioned  the  circum¬ 
stance  afterwards  to  his  friends,  and  was  afraid  of  the  band 
for  some  time  thereafter  ;  although  it  Avas  improbable  that, 
in  the  dark,  they  were  able  to  make  out,  or  afterwards  ascer¬ 
tain,  the  person  avIio  had  made  himself  so  obnoxious  to  them. 

Notwithstanding  this  prompt  and  well-merited  chastise¬ 
ment  which  the  Gipsies  received,  in  their  leader  being  shot 
dead  in  his  attempt  at  highway  robbery,  in  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  their  ordinary  place  of  rendezvous,  they  contin¬ 
ued  their  depredations  in  their  usual  manner,  but  generally 
took  care,  as  is  their  custom,  to  give  no  molestation  to  their 

*  Some  of  the  Gipsies  only  put  a  paper  cap  on  the  head,  and  paper 
round  the  feet,  of  their  dead ;  leaving  all  the  body  bare,  excepting  that 
they  place  upon  the  breast,  opposite  the  heart,  a  circle  made  of  red  and 
blue  ribbons,  in  form  something  like  the  shape  of  the  variegated  cockade, 
worn  in  the  hats  of  newly-enlisted  recruits  in  the  army.  [In  England  it 
was  customary  with  the  Gipsies,  at  one  time,  to  burn  the  dead,  but  now 
they  only  burn  the  clothes,  and  some  of  the  effects  of  the  deceased. — Ed.] 


LINLITHG  0  W Sill  HE  G IPSIEB. 


129 


nearest  neighbours.  The  deceased  captain  was  succeeded,  in 
the  chieftainship  of  the  tribe,  by  his  son,  Alexander  Mc¬ 
Donald,  who  also  assumed  the  title  of  captain.  This  man 
trod  in  the  footsteps  of  his  father  in  every  respect,  and  ex¬ 
ercised  his  hereditary  profession  of  theft  and  robbery,  with 
an  activity  and  audacity  unequalled  by  any  among  his  tribe 
in  that  part  of  Scotland.  The  very  name  of  McDonald 
and  his  gang  appalled  the  boldest  hearts  of  those  who  ven¬ 
tured  to  travel  under  night  with  money  in  their  pockets,  in 
certain  parts  of  the  country.  His  band  appears  to  have 
been  very  numerous,  as  among  them  some  held  the  subordin¬ 
ate  rank  of  lieutenants,  as  if  they  had  been  organized  like 
a  regular  military  company.  James  Jamieson,  his  brother- 
in-law,  was  also  styled  captain  in  this  notorious  band  of 
Gipsies,  who  were  connected  with  similar  bands  in  England 
and  Ireland. 

McDonald  and  his  brother-in-law,  Jamieson,  were  con¬ 
sidered  remarkably  stout,  handsome,  and  fine-looking  men. 
By  constant  training  at  all  kinds  of  athletic  exercises,  they 
brought  themselves  to  perform  feats  of  bodily  strength  and 
agility  which  were  almost  incredible.  They  were  often 
elegantly  dressed  in  the  finest  clothes  of  the  first  fashion, 
with  linen  to  correspond.  At  the  same  time  they  were  per¬ 
fect  chameleons  in  respect  to  their  appearance  and  apparel. 
McDonald  was  frequently  observed  in  three  or  four  different 
dresses  in  one  market-day.  At  one  time  of  the  day,  he  was 
seen  completely  attired  in  the  best  of  tartan,  assuming  the 
appearance  and  manners  of  a  highland  gentleman  in  full  cos¬ 
tume.  At  another  time,  he  appeared  ruffled  at  hands  and 
breast,  booted  and  spurred,  on  horseback,  as  if  he  had  been 
a  man  of  some  consideration.  He  would  again  be  seen  in  a 
ragged  coat,  with  a  budget  and  wallet  on  his  back — a  com¬ 
mon  travelling  Tinkler.  Both  of  these  men  often  dealt  in 
horses,  and  were  themselves  frequently  mounted  on  the  best 
of  animals.  The  Arabians  and  Tartars  are  scarcely  inoi’e 
partial  to  horses  than  the  Gipsies. 

The  pranks  and  tricks  played  by  McDonald  were  numer¬ 
ous,  and  many  a  story  is  yet  remembered  of  his  extraordi¬ 
nary  exploits.  He  took  great  pains  in  training  and  learning 
some  of  his  horses  various  evolutions  and  tricks.  He  had, 
at  one  time,  a  piebald  horse  so  efficiently  trained,  and  so 
completely  under  his  management,  that  it,  in  some  respects, 
6* 


130 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


assisted  him  in  his  depredations.  By  certain  signals  and 
motions,  he  could,  when  he  found  it  necessary,  make  it  clap 
close  to  the  ground,  like  a  hare  in  its  furrow.  It 
would  crouch  down  in  a  hollow  piece  of  ground,  in  a  ditch, 
or  at  the  side  of  a  hedge,  so  as  to  hide  itself,  when  McDon¬ 
ald’s  situation  was  like  to  expose  him  to  detection.  With 
the  assistance  of  one  of  these  well  trained-horses,  this  man, 
on  one  occasion,  saved  his  wife,  Ann  Jamieson,  from  prison, 
and  perhaps  from  the  gallows.  Ann  was  apprehended  near 
Dunfermline  for  some  of  her  unlawful  practices.  As  the 
officers  of  the  law  were  conducting  her  to  prison,  McDonald 
rode  up  to  the  party,  and  requested  permission  to  speak 
with  their  prisoner,  which  was  readily  granted,  as,  from 
McDonald’s  appearance,  the  officers  supposed  he  had  some¬ 
thing  to  say  to  the  woman.  He  then  drew  her  aside,  under 
the  pretence  of  conversing  with  her  in  private,  when,  in  an 
instant,  Ann,  with  his  assistance,  sprang  upon  the  horse,  be¬ 
hind  him,  and  bade  good-bye  to  the  messengers,  who  were 
amazed  at  the  sudden  and  unexpected  escape  of  their  pris¬ 
oner.  Ann  was  a  little,  handsome  woman,  and  was  con¬ 
sidered  one  of  the  most  expert  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  at 
conducting  a  plundering  at  a  fair  ;  and  was,  on  that  account, 
much  respected  by  her  tribe. 

McDonald  and  Jamieson,  like  others  of  the  superior  clas¬ 
ses  of  Gipsies,  gave  tokens  of  protection  to  their  particular 
friends  of  the  community  generally.  The  butchers  of  Lin¬ 
lithgow,  when  they  went  to  the  country,  with  money  to  buy 
cattle,  frequently  procured  these  assurances  from  the  Gip¬ 
sies.  The  shoemakers  did  likewise,  when  they  had  to  go  to 
distant  markets  with  their  shoes.  Linlithgow  appears  even 
to  have  been  under  the  special  protection  of  these  banditti. 
Mr.  George  Hart,  and  Mr.  William  Baird,  two  of  the  most 
respectable  merchants  of  Bo’ness,  who  had  been  peddlers  in 
their  early  years,  scrupled  not  to  say  that,  when  travelling 
through  the  country,  they  were  seldom  without  tokens  from 
the  Gipsies.  But  if  the  Gipsies  were  kind  to  those  who 
kept  on  good  terms  with  them,  the}',  on  the  other  hand,  vin¬ 
dictively  tormented  their  enemies.  They  would  steal  sheep, 
and  put  the  blood  and  parts  of  the  animal  about  the  premises 
of  those  they  hated,  that  they  might  be  suspected  of  the 
theft,  searched  and  affronted  by  the  enquiries  made  about 
the  stolen  property. 


LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


131 


When  McDonald  and  Jamieson  attacked  individuals  on 
the  highway,  or  elsewhere,  and  were  satisfied  that  they  had 
little  or  no  money,  they  were  just  as  ready  to  supply  then- 
wants  as  to  rob  them.  The  idea  of  plundering  the  wealthy, 
and  giving  the  booty  to  the  poor,  gives  the  Gipsies  great 
satisfaction.  The  standard  by  which  this  people’s  conduct 
can  be  measured,  must  be  sought  for  among  the  robber  tribes 
of  Tartary,  Afghanistan,  or  Arabia.  Many  of  our  Scottish 
Gipsies  have,  indeed,  been  as  ready  to  give  a  purse  as  take 
one  ;  and  it  cannot  be  said  that  they  have  lacked  in  the  dis¬ 
play  of  a  certain  degree  of  honour  peculiar  to  themselves, 
as  the  following  well-authenticated  fact  will  illustrate.* 

A  gentleman,  whose  name  is  not  mentioned,  while  travel¬ 
ling,  under  night,  between  Falkirk  and  Linlithgow,  fell  in, 
on  the  road,  with  a  man  whom  he  did  not  know.  During 
the  conversation  which  ensued,  he  mentioned  to  the  stranger 
that  he  was  afraid  of  being  attacked,  for  many  a  one,  he  ob¬ 
served,  had  been  robbed  on  that  road.  He  then  urged  that 
they  should  return,  as  the  safest  plan  for  them  both.  The 
stranger,  however,  replied  that  he  had  often  travelled  the 
road,  yet  had  never  been  troubled  by  any  one.  After  some 
further  conversation,  lie  put  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  and 
gave  the  traveller  a  knife,  with  which  he  was  desired  to  pro¬ 
ceed  without  fear.f  The  traveller  now  perfectly  understood 
the  relation  that  existed  between  them,  and  continued  his 
journey  with  confidence  ;  but  he  had  not  proceeded  far  ere 
lie  was  accosted  by  a  foot-pad,  to  whom  he  produced  the 
knife.  The  pad  looked  at  it  carefully,  said  nothing,  but 
passed  on,  without  giving  the  traveller  the  slightest  annoy¬ 
ance.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  mysterious  stranger  was 
no  other  than  the  notorious  Captain  McDonald.  The  travel¬ 
ler,  by  his  fears  and  the  nature  of  his  conversation,  had 
plainly  informed  McDonald  of  his  being  possessed  of  money 
— a  considerable  quantity  of  which  he  had,  indeed,  with  him— 
and  had  the  love  of  booty  been  the  Gipsy’s  sole  and  con- 

*  Instances  liave  occurred  in  which  an  Afghan  has  received  a  stranger 
with  all  the  rights  of  hospitality,  and  afterwards,  meeting  him  in  the  open 
country,  has  robbed  him.  The  same  person,  it  is  supposed,  who  would 
plunder  a  cloak  from  a  traveller  who  had  one,  would  give  a  cloak  to  ono 
who  had  none. — Hugh  Murray's  Asia,  vol.  2 .page  608. 

f  A  pen-knife,  a  snuff-box,  and  a  ring  are  some  of  the  Gipsy  pass-ports. 
It  is  what  is  marked  upon  them  that  protects  the  bearer  from  being  dis 
turbed  by  others  of  t!  e  tribe. 


132 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


stant  object,  how  easily  could  he,  in  this  instance,  have  pos¬ 
sessed  himself  of  it.  But  the  stranger  had  put  himself,  in  a 
measure,  under  the  protection  of  the  robber,  who  disdained 
to  take  advantage  of  the  confidence  reposed  in  him. 

Another  instance  of  a  Gipsy’s  honour,  generosity,  or  ca¬ 
price,  or  by  whatever  word  the  act  may  be  expressed,  occur¬ 
red  between  McDonald  and  a  farmer  of  the  name  of  Campbell, 
and  exhibits  a  singular  cast  of  character,  which  has  not  been 
uncommon  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  On  this  occasion, 
it  would  appear,  the  Gipsy  had  been  influenced  rather  by  a 
desire  of  enjoying  the  extraordinary  surprise  of  the  simple 
countryman,  than  of  obtaining  booty.  The  occurrence  will 
also  give  some  idea  of  the  part  which  the  cautious  chiefs  take 
in  plundering  at  a  fair.  The  particulars  are  derived  from 
a  Mr.  David  McRitchic,  of  whom  I  shall  again  make  mention. 

While  Campbell  was  on  his  way  to  a  market  in  Perth,  he 
fell  in  with  Captain  McDonald.  Being  unacquainted  with 
the  character  of  his  fellow-traveller,  the  unsuspecting  man 
told  him,  among  other  things,  that  he  had  just  as  much  money 
in  his  pocket  as  would  purchase  one  horse,  for  his  four-horse 
plough,  having  other  three  at  home.  McDonald  heard  all 
this  with  patience  till  he  came  to  a  solitary  part  of  the  road, 
when,  all  at  once,  he  turned  upon  the  astonished  farmer,  and 
demanded  his  money.  The  poor  man,  having  no  alternative, 
immediately  produced  his  purse.  But  in  parting,  the  robber 
desired  him  to  call  next  day  at  a  certain  house  in  Perth, 
where  he  would  find  a  person  who  might  be  of  some  service 
to  him.  Campbell  promised  to  do  as  desired,  and  called  at 
the  house  appointed,  and  great  was  his  surprise,  when,  on 
being  ushered  into  a  room,  he  found  himself  face  to  face  with 
the  late  robber,  sitting  with  a  large  bowl  of  smoking  toddy 
before  him.  The  Gipsy,  in  a  frank  and  hearty  manner,  in¬ 
vited  his  visitor  to  sit  down  and  share  his  toddy  with  him  ; 
a  request  which  he  readily  complied  with,  although  bewil¬ 
dered  with  the  idea  of  the  probable  fate  of  his  purse,  and 
the  result  of  his  personal  adventure.  He  had  scarcely  got 
time,  however,  to  swallow  one  glass,  before  he  was  relieved 
of  his  suspense,  by  the  Gipsy  returning  him  every  farthing 
of  the  money  he  had  robbed  him  of  the  day  before.  Being 
now  pleased  with  his  good  fortune,  and  the  Gipsy  pressing 
him  to  drink,  Campbell  was  in  no  hurry  to  be  gone,  his 
spirits  haying  become  elevated  with  his  good  cheer,  and  the 


LINLITIIG  0  WSIITRE  GIPSIES. 


133 


confidence  with  which  his  host’s  conduct  had  inspired  him. 
But  his  suspicions  returned  upon  him,  as  he  saw  pocket-book 
after  pocket-book  brought  in  to  his  entertainer,  during  the 
time  he  was  enjoying  his  hospitality.  The  Gipsy  chief  was, 
in  fact,  but  following  a  very  important  branch  of  his  calling, 
and  was,  on  that  day,  doing  a  considerable  business,  having 
a  number  of  youths  ferreting  for  him  in  the  market,  and 
coming  in  and  going  out  constantly. 

But  this  crafty  Gipsy,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Jamieson, 
were  at  last  apprehended  for  house-breaking  and  robbery. 
Their  trials  took  place  at  Edinburgh,  on  the  9th  and  13th 
of  August,  1770,  and  “the  fame  of  being  Egyptians”  made 
part  of  the  charge  against  them  in  the  indictment ;  a  charge 
well  founded,  as  both  of  them  spoke  the  “right  Egyptian 
language.”  It  was  the  last  instance,  I  believe,  that  the  fact 
of  their  being  “  called,  known,  repute,  and  holden  Egyp¬ 
tians,”  made  part  of  the  indictment  against  any  of  the  tribe 
in  Scotland,  under  the  sanguinary  statute  of  James  VI, 
chap.  13,  passed  in  1609.  So  cunning  are  the  Gipsies,  how¬ 
ever,  in  committing  crimes,  that,  in  this  instance,  the  crim¬ 
inals,  it  was  understood,  would  have  escaped  justice,  for  want 
of  sufficient  proof,  had  not  one  of  their  own  band,  of  the 
name  of  Jamieson,  a  youth  of  about  twenty-two  years  of  age, 
turned  king’s  evidence  against  his  associated.  The  two  un¬ 
happy  men  were  then  found  guilty  by  the  jury,  and  con¬ 
demned  to  die.  They  were  ordered  to  be  executed  at 
Linlithgow  bridge,  near  the  very  spot  where  their  band  had 
their  principal  rendezvous,  with  the  apparent  object  of  daunt¬ 
ing  their  incorrigible  race. 

Immediately  after  the  trial,  a  report  was  spread,  and 
generally  believed,  that  the  Gipsies  would  attempt  a  rescue 
of  the  criminals  on  the  way  to  execution,  or  even  from  under 
the  gallows  itself ;  and  it  was  particularly  mentioned  that 
thirty  stout  and  desperate  members  of  the  race  had  under¬ 
taken  to  set  their  chieftains  free.  Every  precaution  was 
therefore  taken,  by  the  authorities,  to  prevent  any  such 
attempt  being  made.  A  large  proportion  of  the  gentlemen 
and  farmers  of  the  shire  of  Linlithgow  were  requested, 
with  what  arms  they  could  procure,  to  attend,  on  foot  or 
horseback,  the  execution  of  the  desperate  Tinklers.  Indeed, 
every  third  man  of  all  the  fencible  men  of  the  county  was 
called  upon  to  appear  on  the  occasion  ;  while  a  company  of 


134 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


pensioners,  with  a  commissioned  officer  at  their  head,  and  a 
strong  body  of  the  military,  completed  the  force  deemed 
necessary  for  the  due  execution  of  justice.  Besides  guard¬ 
ing  against  the  possibility  of  a  rescue  on  the  part  of  the 
Gipsies,  it  was  generally  understood  that  the  steps  taken  by 
the  authorities,  in  bringing  together  so  large  a  body  of  men, 
had  in  view  the  object  of  exhibiting  to  the  people  the  igno¬ 
minious  death  of  two  men  who  had  not  only  been  allowed 
to  remain  among  them,  but,  in  many  instances,  countenanced 
by  some  of  the  most  respectable  inhabitants  of  the  county  ; 
and  that  not  only  in  out-door  amusements,  but  even  in  some 
of  the  special  hospitalities  of  daily  life,  while  in  fact  they 
were  nothing  but  the  leaders  of  a  band  of  notorious  thieves 
and  robbers. 

These  precautions  being  completed,  the  condemned  Gipsies 
were  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  conveyed,  by  the  sheriff  of 
Edinburgh  and  a  company  of  the  military,  to  the  boat-house 
bridge,  on  the  river  Almond — the  boundary  of  the  two 
counties — and  there  handed  over  to  the  sheriff  of  Linlith¬ 
gow  ;  under  whose  guard  they  were  carried  to  the  jail  of 
the  town  of  Linlithgow,  and  securely  bound  in  irons,  to  wait 
their  execution  on  the  morrow.*  As  night  approached, fires 
were  kindled  at  the  door  of  the  prison,  and  guards  posted 
in  the  avenues  leading  to  the  building,  while  all  the  entrances 
to  the  town  were  guarded,  and  all  ingress  and  egress  pro¬ 
hibited,  as  if  the  burgh  had  been  in  a  state  of  siege.  So 
strictly  were  these  orders  put  in  force,  that  many  of  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  Bo’ness,  who  had  gone  to  Linlithgow,  to  view 
the  bustle  occasioned  by  the  assemblage  of  so  great  a  num¬ 
ber  of  armed  men,  were  forced  to  remain  in  the  town  over 
night ;  so  alarmed  were  the  authorities  for  the  onset  of  the 
resolute  Gipsies.  It  was  soon  perceived,  by  some  sagacious 
individuals,  that  the  fires  would  do  more  harm  than  good, 
as  the  light  would  show  the  prison,  expose  the  sentinels,  and 
guide  the  Gipsy  bands.  They  were  accordingly  extinguished, 

*  “This  morning,  a  little  after  nine  o’clock,  McDonald  and  Jamieson 
were  transported  from  the  Tolbooth  here,  (Edinburgh,)  escorted  by  a  party 
of  the  military,  and  attended  by  the  sheriff-depute  on  horseback,  with  the 
officers  of  court,  armed  with  broad-swords,  amidst  an  innumerable  crowd 
of  spectators.  They  were  securely  pinioned  to  a  cart,  and  are  to  be 
received  by  the  sheriff-depute  of  Linlithgow,  on  the  confines  of  this  county, 
whither  they  are  to  be  conveyed,  in  order  to  their  execution  to-morrow, 
near  Linlithgow-bridgc,  pursuant  to  their  sentence.” — liuddiman’s  Weekly 
Magazine,  vol  9,  page  384. 


LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


135 


and  the  guards  placed  in  such  positions  as  would  enable 
them,  with  the  most  advantage,  to  repel  any  attack  that 
might  be  attempted  :  yet  the  enemy  that  caused  all  this 
alarm  and  precaution  was  nowhere  visible. 

On  the  following  morning,  McDonald’s  wife  requested 
permission  to  visit  her  husband  before  being  led  to  execu¬ 
tion,  with  what  particular  object  can  only  be  conjectured  ;  a 
favour  which  was  readily  granted  her,  in  the  company  of  a 
magistrate.  On  beholding  the  object  of  her  affection,  she 
became  overwhelmed  with  grief ;  she  threw  her  arms  around 
his  neck,  and  embraced  him  most  tenderly  ;  and  after  giving 
vent  to  her  sorrow  in  sobs  and  tears,  she  tore  herself  from 
him,  and,  turning  to  the  magistrate,  exclaimed,  with  a  burst¬ 
ing  heart,  “Is  he  not  a  pretty  man?  What  a  pity  it  is  to 
hang  him !” 

Arrangements  were  then  made  to  carry  the  prisoners  to 
the  place  of  execution,  at  the  bridge  of  Linlithgow,  which 
lay  about  a  mile  from  the  town.  The  armed  force  was 
drawn  up  at  the  town-cross,  and  those  who  carried  muskets 
were  ordered  to  load  them  with  ball  cartridge,  and  hold 
themselves  ready,  at  the  word  of  command,  upon  the  least 
appearance  of  an  attempt  at  rescue,  to  fire  upon  the  aggres¬ 
sors.  The  whole  scene  presented  such  an  alarming  and  war¬ 
like  appearauce,  that  the  people  of  the  town  and  surrounding 
country  compared  it  to  the  bustle  and  military  parade  which 
took  place,  twenty-five  years  before,  when  the  rebel  ►army 
made  its  appearance  in  the  neighbourhood.  The  judicious 
arrangements  adopted  by  the  officers  of  the  crown  had  the 
desired  effect ;  for  not  the  slightest  symptom  of  disturbance, 
not  even  a  movement,  was  observed  among  the  Gipsies, 
either  on  the  night  before,  or  on  the  morning  of  the  execu¬ 
tion.  The  formidable  armed  bands,  ready  to  overwhelm 
the  presumptuous  Gipsies,  clearly  showed  them  that  they 
had  not  the  shadow  of  a  chance  for  carrying  out  their  in¬ 
tended  rescue.  All  was  peace  and  silence  throughout  the 
immense  crowd  surrounding  the  gallows,  patiently  waiting 
the  appearance  of  the  criminals.  In  due  time  the  condemned 
made  their  appearance,  in  a  cart,  accompanied  by  Charles 
and  James  Jamieson,  two  youths,  sitting  beside  their  father 
and  uncle,  busily  eating  rolls,  and,  to  all  appearance,  totally 
indifferent  to  the  fate  of  their  relatives,  and  the  awful  cir¬ 
cumstances  surrounding  them. 


136 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


On  ascending  the  platform,  Jamieson’s  demeanour  was 
suitable  to  the  circumstances  in  which  he  found  himself 
placed  ;  but  McDonald  appeared  quite  unconcerned.  He 
was  observed  frequently  to  turn  a  quid  of  tobacco  in  his 
mouth,  and  squirt  the  juice  of  it  around  him  ;  it  was  even 
evident,  from  his  manner,  that  he  expected  to  be  delivered 
from  the  gallows  by  his  tribe ;  and  more  especially  as  he 
had  been  frequently  heard  to  say  that  the  hemp  was  not 
grown  that  would  hang  him.  He  then  began  to  look  fre¬ 
quently  and  wistfully  around  him  for  the  expected  aid,  yet 
none  made  its  appearance ;  and  his  heart  began  to  sink 
within  him.  Indeed,  the  overwhelming  force  then  surround¬ 
ing  him  rendered  a  deliverance  impossible.  Every  hope 
having  failed  him,  and  seeing  his  end  at  hand,  McDonald 
resigned  himself,  with  great  firmness,  to  his  fate,  and  ex¬ 
claimed  :  “  I  have  neither  friends  on  my  right  hand  nor  on 
my  left ;  I  see  I  now  must  die.”  Jamieson,  who  appeared 
from  the  first  never  to  indulge  in  vain  expectations  of  being 
rescued,  exclaimed  to  his  fellow-sufferer  :  “  Sandie,  Sandie  ! 
it  is  all  over  with  us,  and  I  told  you  so  long  ago.”  Mc¬ 
Donald  then  turned  to  the  executioner,  whose  name  was 
John  Livingston,  and  dropping  into  his  hand  something, 
supposed  to  be  money,  undauntedly  said  to  him  :  “Now, 
John,  don’t  bungle  your  job.”  Both  of  the  unhappy  men 
were  then  launched  into  eternity.  Ever  afterwards,  the  in¬ 
habitants  of  Linlithgow  pestered  the  hangman,  by  calling  to 
him  :  “  Now,  John,  don’t  bungle  your  job.  What  was  it  the 
Tinkler  gave  you,  John  ?”* 

McDonald’s  wife  had  stood  by,  a  quiet  spectator,  among 
the  promiscuous  crowd,  of  the  melancholy  scene  displayed 
before  her.  But  when  she  had  witnessed  the  closing  act  of 
an  eventful  life — the  heroism  and  fortitude  which  all  she 
held  as  dear  displayed  in  his  last  moments — and  enjoyed  the 
satisfaction  which  it  had  given  her,  nature,  which  the  odium 
of  her  fellow-creatures,  not  of  her  blood,  could  not  destroy, 
burst  forth  with  genuine  expression.  The  silence  attending 
the  awful  tragedy  was  abruptly  broken  by  the  lamentable 
yells  and  heart-rending  screams  which  she  gave  vent  to,  as 

*  “  On  Friday  last,  about  three  o’clock,  McDonald  and  Jamieson  were 
hanged,  at  the  end  of  Linlithgow  bridge.  The  latter  appeared  very  peni¬ 
tent,  but  the  former  very  little  affected,  and,  as  the  saying  is,  died  hard.” — 
Ruddiman's  Weekly  Magazine,  vol.  9,  page  41G. 


LINLITHG  0  WSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


137 


she  beheld  her  husband  turned  off  the  scaffold.  Two  gentle¬ 
men,  who  were  present,  informed  me  that  she  foamed  at  the 
mouth,  and  tore  her  hair  out  of  her  head,  and  was  so  com¬ 
pletely  frantic  with  grief  and  rage,  that  the  spectators  were 
afraid  to  go  near  her. 

On  the  bodies  being  taken  down  from  the  scaffold,  an  at¬ 
tempt  was  made  to  restore  them  to  life,  by  opening  a  vein, 
but  without  effect.  It  is  said  they  were  buried  in  the  moor 
near  Linlithgow,  by  the  Gipsies,  and  that  the  magistrates  of 
the  town  ordered  them  to  be  taken  up,  and  interred  in  the 
east  end  of  the  church-yard  of  Linlithgow.  However  that 
may  be,  the  bodies  were  buried  in  the  church-yard  of  Lin¬ 
lithgow  ;  but  the  populace,  delivered  from  the  terror  with 
which  these  daring  Gipsies  inspired  them,  treated  with  ig¬ 
nominy  the  remains  of  those  whom  they  dared  scarcely  look 
in  the  face  when  alive.  They  dug  them  out  of  the  place  of 
Christian  sepulture,  and  interred  them  in  a  solitary  held  in 
the  neighbourhood.  A  clump  of  trees,  I  believe,  marks  the 
spot,  and  the  gloomy  pine  now  waves,  in  the  winds  of  heaven, 
over  the  silent  and  peaceful  graves  of  the  restless  and  law¬ 
less  Gipsies. 

McDonald,  it  would  appear,  was  married,  hrst  of  all,  to  a 
daughter  of  a  Gipsy  of  the  name  of  Eppie  Lundie,  with 
whom  he  lived  unhappy,  and  was  divorced  from  her  over  a 
horse  sacrificed  for  the  occasion,  a  ceremony  which  I  will 
describe  in  another  chapter.*  He  was  more  fortunate  in 
his  second  matrimonial  alliance,  for,  in  Ann  Jamieson,  he 
found  a  wife  after  his  own  heart  in  every  way.  Previous  to 
his  own  execution,  she  had  witnessed  the  violent  deaths  of 
at  least  six  of  her  own  nearest  relatives.  But,  if  anything 
could  have  influenced,  in  the  slightest  degree,  a  reformation 
in  her  own  character,  it  would  have  been  the  melancholy 
scene  attending  his  miserable  end  ;  yet,  we  find  it  had  not 
the  slightest  effect  upon  her  after  career,  for  she  continued, 
to  the  last,  to  follow  the  practices  of  her  race,  as  an  anec¬ 
dote  told  of  her  will  show. 

At  the  North  Queensferry  was  a  very  respectable  inn,  kept 
by  a  Mr.  McRitchie,  which  was  much  frequented  and  patron- 

*  This  Eppie  Lundie  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  a  hundred  years,  and 
was  a  terror  wherever  she  travelled.  Without  the  least  hesitation  or 
scruple,  she  frequently  stripped  defenceless  individuals  of  their  wearing 
apparel,  leaving  them  sometimes  naked  in  the  open  fields. 


138 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


ized  by  the  Gipsies.  On  such  occasions  they  did  not  visit 
the  house  in  whole  families  or  hordes,  fluttering  in  rags,  but 
as  well-dressed  individuals,  arriving  from  different  directions, 
as  if  by  chance.  In  this  house  they  were  always  treated 
with  consideration  and  kindness,  for  other  reasons  than  that 
of  the  liberal  custom  which  they  brought  to  it,  and,  as  a 
natural  consequence,  the  landlord  and  his  family  became 
great  favourites  with  them.  One  of  the  members  of  the 
family,  David  McRitchic,  my  informant,  happened  one  day 
to  purchase  a  horse,  at  a  fair  in  Dunfermline,  but  in  feeling 
for  his  pocket-book,  to  pay  for  the  animal,  he  found,  to  his 
surprise  and  grief,  that  book  and  money  were  gone.  The 
person  from  whom  he  bought  the  horse  commenced  at  once 
to  abuse  him  as  an  impostor,  for  he  not  only  would  not  be¬ 
lieve  his  talc,  but  would  not  trust  him  for  a  moment.  Under 
these  distressing  circumstances,  he  sought  out  Ann  Jamieson, 
or  Annie  McDonald,  after  her  husband’s  name,  for  he  knew 
well  enough  where  his  money  had  gone  to,  and  the  sovereign 
influence  which  Ann  exercised  over  her  tribe.  Being  well 
acquainted  with  her,  from  having  often  met  her  in  his  fa¬ 
ther’s  house,  he  went  up  to  her,  and  putting  his  hand  gently 
on  her  shoulder,  in  a  kind  and  familiar  manner,  and  with  a 
long  face,  told  her  of  his  misfortune,  and  begged  her  friendly 
assistance  to  help  him  out  of  the  difficulty,  laying  much  stress 
on  the  horse-dealer  charging  him  with  an  attempt  to  impose 
on  him.  “  Some  o’  my  laddies  will  hae  seen  it,  Davie  ;  I’ll 
enquire,”  was  her  immediate  reply.  She  then  took  him  to  a 
public-house,  called  for  brandy,  saw  him  seated,  and  desired 
him  to  drink.  Taking  the  marks  of  the  pocket-book,  she 
entered  the  fair,  and,  after  various  doublings  and  windings 
among  the  crowd,  proceeded  to  her  temporary  depot  of 
stolen  goods.  In  about  half  an  hour  she  returned,  with  the 
book  and  all  its  contents.  The  cash,  bills,  and  papers  which 
it  contained,  were  in  the  same  parts  of  the  book  in  which  the 
owner  had  placed  them.  This  affair  was  transacted  in  as 
cool  and  business-like  a  manner  as  if  Annie  and  her  “  laddies” 
had  been  following  any  of  the  honest  callings  in  ordinary 
life.  Indeed,  no  example,  however  severe,  no  punishment, 
however  awful,  seems  to  have  had  any  beneficial  effect  upon 
the  minds  of  these  Gipsies,  or  their  friends  who  frequented 
the  surrounding  parts  of  the  country,  for  they  continued  to 
follow  the  ways  of  their  race,  in  spite  of  the  sanguinary  laws 


LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


139 


of  the  country.  A  continuation  of  their  history,  up  to  a 
period,  is  little  better  than  a  melancholy  narrative  of  a  scries 
of  imprisonments,  banishments,  and  executions. 

Ann  Jamieson’s  two  nephews,  Charles  and  James  Jamie¬ 
son,  who  rode  alongside  of  their  father  and  uncle  to  the 
place  of  their  execution,  eating  rolls,  as  if  nothing  unusual 
was  about  to  befall  them,  and  who  had  witnessed  their 
miserable  end,  in  1770,  were  themselves  executed  in  1786 
for  robbing  the  Kinross  mail.  It  was  their  intention  to 
have  committed  the  deed  upon  the  highway,  for,  the  night 
before  the  robbery,  their  mother,  Euphan  Graham,  to  pre¬ 
vent  detection,  insisted  upon  the  post-boy  being  put  to  death, 
to  which  bloody  proposition  her  sons  would  not  consent.  It 
was  then  agreed  that  they  should  secure  their  prize  in  the 
stable  yard  of  an  inn  in  the  town,  where  the  post-boy  usually 
stopped.  The  two  highwaymen  were  traced  to  a  small 
house  near  Stirling,  in  which  they  made  a  desperate  resist¬ 
ance.  One  of  them  attempted  to  ascend  the  chimney,  to 
effect  his  escape  ;  but,  failing  in  that,  they  attached  the  offi¬ 
cers,  and  tore  at  them  with  their  teeth,  after  having  struck 
furiously  at  them  with  a  knife.  But  they  were  overpowered, 
and  secured  in  irons.  Two  females  were  in  their  company 
at  the  time,  on  whom  some  of  the  money  was  found,  most 
artfully  concealed  about  their  persons.  So  illiterate  were 
these  two  men  that,  in  crossing  the  Forth  at  Kincardine, 
they  presented  a  twenty-pound  note,  to  be  changed,  instead 
of  a  twenty-shilling  one.  According  to  Baron  Hume,  the 
trial  of  these  two  Gipsies  took  place  on  the  18th  December, 
1786.  They  were  assisted  in  the  robbery  by  other  members 
of  their  band,  including  women  and  children.  Their  mother 
was  said  to  have  been  transported  for  the  part  which  she 
took  in  the  affair  ;  while  another  member  of  the  gang  was 
below  the  age  at  which  criminals  can  be  tried  and  punished 
in  this  country.  The  two  brothers,  before  they  committed 
the  crime,  measured  themselves  in  a  room  in  Kinross,  kept 
by  a  Mary  Barclay,  and  marked  their  heights  on  the  wall. 
The  one  stood  six  feet  two  inches,  and  the  other  five  feet 
four  inches.* 

*  Perhaps  the  author  intended  to  say,  six  feet  two  inches,  and  xix  feet 
four  inches.  Si  ill,  it  might  have  been  as  stated  in  the  MS. ;  for  with  Gip¬ 
sies  of  mixed  blood,  the  individual,  if  he  takes  after  the  Gipsy,  is  apt  to  be 
short  and  thick-set.  'the  mixture  of  the  two  people  produces  a  strong  raco 
of  men. — Ed. 


CHAPTER  V. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 

In  this  account  of  the  Gipsies  in  Fife,  the  horde  which  at 
one  period  resided  at  the  village  of  Lochgellie  are  frequently 
referred  to.  But  it  is  proper  to  premise  that  this  noted 
band  were  not  the  only  Gipsies  in  Fife.  This  populous 
county  contained,  at  one  time,  a  great  number  of  nomadic 
Gipsies.  The  Falkland  hills  and  the  Falkland  fairs  were 
greatly  frequented  by  them  ;*  and,  not  far  from  St.  Andrews, 
some  of  the  tribe  had,  within  these  fifty  years,  a  small  farm, 
containing  about  twenty  acres  of  waste  land,  on  which  they 
had  a  small  foundry,  which  the  country  people,  on  that  ac¬ 
count,  called  “  Little  Carron.”  As  my  materials  for  this 
chapter  are  chiefly  derived  from  the  Lochgellie  band,  and 
their  immediate  connexions  in  other  districts  not  far  from 
Fife,  their  manners  and  customs  are,  on  that  account,  brought 
more  under  review. 

The  village  of  Lochgellie  was,  at  one  time,  a  favourite  re¬ 
sort  of  the  Gipsies.  The  grounds  in  its  immediate  vicinity 
are  exactly  of  that  character  upon  which  they  seem  to  have 

*  In  Oliver  and  Boyd’s  Scottish  Tourist,  (1852),  page  181,  occurs  the  fol¬ 
lowing  passage :  “  A  singular  set  of  vagrants  existed  long  in  Falkland, 
called  Scropies,  who  had  no  other  visible  means  of  existence  than  a  horse 
or  a  cow.  Their  ostensible  employment  was  (be  carriage  of  commodities 
to  the  adjoining  villages,  and  in  the  intervals  of  work  they  turned  out  their 
cattle  to  graze  on  the  Lomond  Hill.  Their  excursions  at  night  were  long 
and  mysterious,  for  the  pretended  object  of  procuring  coals,  but  they 
roamed  with  their  little  carts  through  the  country-side,  securing  whatever 
they  could  lift,  and  plundering  fields  in  autumn.  Whenever  any  enquiry 
was  addressed  to  a  Falkland  Scrapie  as  to  the  support  of  his  horse,  the 
ready  answer  was,  ‘  Ou,  he  gangs  up  the  (Lomond)  Hill,  ye  ken.’  This  is 
now  prevented  ;  the  Lomond  is  enclosed,  and  the  Scrapies  now  manage 
their  affairs  on  the  road-sides.” 

The  people  mentioned  in  this  extract  are  doubtless  those  to  whom  our 
author  alludes.  The  reader  will  notice  some  resemblance  between  them 
and  the  tribe  in  the  Pyrenees,  as  described  at  page  87  — En. 

(140) 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


141 


fixed  their  permanent,  or  rather  winter’s  residence,  in  a 
great  many  parts  of  Scotland.  By  the  statistical  account  of 
the  parish  of  Auchterderran,  Lochgellie  was  almost  inacces¬ 
sible  for  nearly  six  months  in  the  year.  The  bleak  and 
heathy  morasses,  and  rushy  wastes,  with  which  the  village 
is  surrounded,  have  a  gloomy  and  melancholy  aspect.  The 
scenery  and  face  of  the  adjoining  country  are  very  similar 
to  those  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Biggar,  in  Lanarkshire, 
and  Middleton,  in  Midlothian,  which  were  also,  at  that  time, 
Gipsy  stations.  A  little  to  the  south  of  the  spot  where  the 
Linlithgow  band,  at  one  period,  had  their  quarters,  the  coun¬ 
try  becomes  moory,  bleak,  and  barren.  The  village  ofKirk- 
Yetholm,  at  present  full  of  Gipsies,  is  also  situated  upon  the 
confines  of  a  wild,  pastoral  tract,  among  the  Cheviot  hills.* 
The  Gipsies,  in  general,  appear  to  have  located  themselves 
upon  grounds  of  a  flattish  character,  between  the  cultivated 
and  uncultivated  districts  ;  having,  on  one  side,  a  fertile  and 
populous  country,  and,  on  the  other,  a  heathy,  boggy,  and 
barren  waste,  into  which  they  could  retire  in  times  of  dan- 
ger.f 

In  the  statistical  account  of  Auchterderran,  just  alluded 
to,  is  to  be  found  the  following  notice  of  the  Lochgellie  Gip¬ 
sies  :  “  There  are  a  few  persons  called  Tinkers  and  Horn¬ 
ers ,  half  resident  and  half  itinerant,  who  are  feared  and 
suspected  by  the  community.  Two  of  them  were  banished 
within  these  six  years.”  This  horde,  at  one  time,  consisted 
of  four  or  five  families  of  the  names  of  Graham,  Brown, 
Robertson,  &c.  The  Jamiesons  and  Wilsons  were  also  often 
seen  at  Lochgellie  ;  but  such  were  the  numbers  that  were 
coming  and  going  about  the  village,  that  it  was  difficult  to 
say  who  were  residenters,  and  who  were  not.  Some  of 
them  had  feus  from  the  proprietor  of  the  estate  of  Loch¬ 
gellie.  They  were  dreaded  for  their  depredations,  and 
were  well  known  to  the  country  people,  all  over  the  shires 
of  Fife,  Kinross,  Perth,  Forfar,  Kincardine  and  Aber¬ 
deen,  by  the  name  of  the  “  Lochgellie  band.”  The  chiefs  of 

*  Yetholm  lies  in  a  valley  which,  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  lofty  moun¬ 
tains,  seems  completely  sequestered  from  the  rest  of  the  world — alike  inac¬ 
cessible  from  without,  and  not  to  be  left  from  within.  The  valley  has, 
however,  more  than  one  outlet. — Chambers  Gazetteer  of  Scotland. — Ed. 

f  In  Hungary,  their  houses,  which  are  always  small,  and  poor  in  appear¬ 
ance,  are  commonly  situated  in  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  and,  if  possible, 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  somo  thicket  or  rough  land. — Bright. — Ed. 


142 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


this  band  were  the  Grahams,  at  the  head  of  which  was  old 
Charles  Graham,  an  uncommonly  stout  and  fine-looking  man. 
He  was  banished  the  kingdom  for  his  many  crimes.  Charlie 
had  been  often  in  courts  of  justice,  and  on  one  occasion, 
when  he  appeared  for  some  crime  or  other,  the  judge,  in  a 
surly  manner,  demanded  of  him,  what  had  brought  him 
there  ? — “  The  auld  thing  again,  my  lord,  but  nae  proof,” 
was  the  Tinkler’s  immediate  reply.  Ann  Brown,  one  of  his 
wives,  and  the  chief  female  of  the  band,  was  also  sentenced  to 
banishment  for  fourteen  years  ;  seven  of  which,  however,  she 
spent  in  the  prison  of  Aberdeen.  She  remained  altogether 
nine  years  at  Botany  Bay,  married  a  Gipsy  abroad,  returned 
to  Scotland,  with  more  than  a  hundred  pounds  in  cash,  and 
now  sells  earthenware  at  St.  Andrews.*  Being  asked  why 
she  left  Botany  Bay,  while  making  so  much  money  there, 
she  said,  “  It  was  to  let  them  see  1  could  come  back  again.” 

Young  Charlie  Graham,  son  and  successor,  as  chief,  to  old 
Charlie,  was  hanged  at  Perth,  about  thirty  years  ago,  for 
horse-stealing.  The  anecdotes  which  are  told  of  this  singu¬ 
lar  man  are  numerous.  When  he  was  apprehended,  a  num¬ 
ber  of  people  assembled  to  look  at  him,  as  an  object  of  won¬ 
der  ;  it  being  considered  a  thing  almost  impossible  to  take 
him.  His  dog  had  discovered  to  the  messengers  the  place 
of  his  concealment,  having  barked  at  them  as  they  came 
near  the  spot.  His  feelings  became  irritated  at  the  curi¬ 
osity  of  the  people,  and  he  called  out  in  great  bitterness  to 
the  officers  :  “  Let  me  free,  and  gie  me  a  stick  three  feet 
lang,  and  I’ll  clear  the  knowe  o’  them.”  His  feet  and  hands 
were  so  handsome  and  small,  in  proportion  to  the  other 
parts  of  his  athletic  body,  that  neither  irons  nor  hand-cuffs 
could  be  kept  on  his  ankles  or  wrists  ;  without  injury  to  his 
person  the  gyves  and  manacles  always  slipped  over  his 
joints.  He  had  a  prepossessing  countenance,  an  elegant 
figure,  and  mucli  generosity  of  heart  ;  and,  notwithstanding 
all  his  tricks,  was  an  extraordinary  favourite  with  the  pub¬ 
lic.  Among  the  many  tricks  he  played,  it  is  related  that  he 
once,  unobserved,  in  a  grass  park,  converted  a  young  colt 
into  a  gelding.  He  allowed  the  animal  to  remain  for  some 
time  in  the  possession  of  the  owner,  and  then  stole  it.  He  was 
immediately  detected,  and  apprehended  ;  but  as  the  owner 

*  This  woman  is  most  probably  dead,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  some 
of  the  other  characters  mentioned  in  this  and  other  chapters. — Ed. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


143 


swore  positively  to  the  description  of  his  horse,  and  Char¬ 
lie’s  being  a  gelding,  he  got  off  clear.  The  man  was  amazed 
when  he  discovered  the  trick  that  had  been  played  upon 
him,  but  when,  where,  and  by  whom  done,  he  was  entirely 
ignorant.  Graham  sold  the  animal  to  a  third  person,  again 
stole  it,  and  replaced  it  in  the  park  of  the  original  owner. 
He  seemed  to  take  great  delight  in  stealing  in  this  ingeni¬ 
ous  manner,  trying  how  dexterously  he  could  carry  off  the 
property  of  the  astonished  natives.  He  sometimes  stole 
from  wealthy  individuals,  and  gave  the  booty  to  the  indi¬ 
gent,  although  they  were  not  Gipsies  ;  and  so  accustomed 
were  the  people,  in  some  places,  to  his  bloodless  robberies, 
that  some  only  put  their  spurs  to  their  horses,  calling  out,  as 
they  passed  him  :  “  All  ha,  Charlie  lad,  ye  hae  missed  your 
mark  to — night !”  A  widow,  with  a  large  family,  at  whose 
house  he  had  frequently  been  quartered,  was  in  great  dis¬ 
tress  for  want  of  money  to  pay  her  rent.  Graham  lent  her 
the  amount  required  ;  but  as  the  factor  was  returning  homo 
witli  it  in  his  pocket,  Charlie  robbed  him,  and,  without  loss 
of  time,  returned  to  the  woman,  and  gave  her  a  full  dis¬ 
charge  for  the  sum  she  had  just  borrowed  from  him. 

He  was  asked,  immediately  before  his  execution,  if  he  had 
ever  performed  any  good  action  during  his  life,  to  recom¬ 
mend  him  to  the  mercy  of  his  offended  God.  That  of  giving 
the  widow  and  fatherless  the  money  of  which  he  immediately 
afterwards  robbed  the  factor,  was  the  only  instance  he  ad¬ 
duced  in  his  favour  ;  thinking  that  thereby  he  had  performed 
a  virtuous  deed.  In  the  morning  of  the  day  on  which  he 
was  to  suffer,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  one  of  the  magistrates, 
requesting  a  razor  to  take  off  his  beard  ;  at  the  same  time, 
in  a  calm  manner,  desiring  the  person  to  tell  the  magistrate 
that,  “  unless  his  beard  was  shaven,  he  could  appear  before 
neither  God  nor  man.”  A  short  time  before  he  was  taken 
out  to  the  gallows,  he  was  observed  reclining  very  pensively 
and  thoughtfully  on  a  seat.  All  at  once  he  started  up,  ex¬ 
claiming,  in  a  mournful  tone  of  voice,  “  Oh,  can  ony  o’  ye 
read,  sirs ;  will  some  o’  ye  read  a  psalm  to  me  ?”  at  the 
same  time  regretting  much  that  he  had  not  been  taught  to 
read.  The  fifty-first  psalm  was  accordingly  read  to  him,  by 
a  gentleman  present,  which  soothed  his  feelings  exceedingly, 
and  gave  him  much  ease  and  comfort.  He  was  greatly 
agitated  after  ascending  the  platform — his  knees  knocking 


144 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


against  each  other  ;  but  just  before  he  was  cast  off,  his  in¬ 
veterate  Gipsy  feelings  returned  upon  him  with  redoubled 
violence.  He  kicked  from  his  feet  both  of  his  shoes,  in 
sight  of  the  spectators — to  set  at  nought,  as  was  supposed, 
some  prophecy  that  he  would  die  with  them  on  ;  and  ad¬ 
dressed  the  assembled  crowd  in  the  following  words:  “I 
am  this  day  to  be  married  to  the  gallows-tree,  by  suffering 
in  the  maimer  of  many  of  my  ancestors  ;  and  I  am  extremely 
glad  to  see  such  a  number  of  respectable  people  at  my  wed¬ 
ding.”  A  number  of  the  band  attended  his  execution,  and, 
when  his  body  was  returned  to  them,  they  all  kissed  it  with 
great  affection,  and  held  the  usual  lyke-wake  over  it.  His 
sweetheart,  or  widow,  I  am  uncertain  which,  of  the  name 
of  Wilson,  his  own  cousin,  put  his  corpse  into  hot  lime,  then 
buried  it,  and  sat  on  his  grave,  in  a  state  of  intoxication, 
till  it  was  rendered  unfit  for  the  use  of  the  medical  gentle¬ 
men  ;  it  having  been  reported  that  he  was  to  be  taken  out 
of  his  grave  for  the  purpose  of  dissection.  This  man 
boasted  greatly,  while  under  sentence  of  death,  of  never 
having  spilled  human  blood  by  committing  murder. 

Hugh  Graham,  brother  to  Charlie,  above-mentioned,  was 
stabbed  with  a  knife  by  his  own  cousin,  John  Young,  in 
Aberdeenshire.  These  powerful  Gipsies  never  fell  in  with 
each  other  but  a  wrestling  bout  took  place.  Young  gen¬ 
erally  came  off  victorious,  but  Graham,  although  worsted, 
would  neither  quit  Young  nor  acknowledge  his  inferiority 
of  strength.  Young  frequently  desired  Graham  to  keep 
out  of  his  way,  as  his  obstinate  disposition  would  prove 
fatal  to  one  of  them  some  time  or  other.  They,  however, 
met  again,  when  a  desperate  struggle  ensued.  Graham  was 
the  aggressor ;  he  drew  his  knife  to  stab  Young,  who 
wrested  it  out  of  his  hand,  and  stabbing  him  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  stomach,  close  to  the  breast,  laid  his  opponent 
dead  at  his  feet.*  In  this  battle  the  Gipsy  females,  in 
their  usual  manner,  took  a  conspicuous  part,  by  assisting  the 
combatants  on  either  side. 

*  Young  was  chased  for  nearly  thirty  miles,  by  Highlanders,  on  foot,  and 
General  Gordon  of  Cairnfiekl,  and  others,  on  horseback  ;  and,  as  he  was 
frequently  in  view,  the  affair  much  resembled  a  fox-hunt.  The  hounds 
were  most  of  them  game-keepers — an  active  race  of  men  ;  and  so  exhausted 
were  they,  before  the  Gipsy  was  caught,  that  they  were  seen  lying  by  the 
springs,  lapping  water  with  their  tongues,  like  dogs. — Blackwood’s  Maga¬ 
zine. — Ed. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


145 


Jenny  Graham,  sister  of  these  Grahams,  was  kept  by  a 
gentleman  as  his  mistress  ;  but,  although  treated  with  affec¬ 
tion,  such  was  her  attachment  to  her  old  wandering  way  of 
life,  that  she  left  her  protector  and  his  wealth,  and  rejoined 
her  erratic  associates  in  the  gang.  She  was  a  remarkably 
handsome  and  good-looking  woman,  and,  while  she  traversed 
the  country,  she  frequently  rode  upon  an  ass,  which  was 
saddled  and  bridled.  On  these  occasions,  she  was  sometimes 
dressed  in  a  blue  riding-habit  and  a  black  beaver  hat.  It 
was  generally  supposed  that  the  stolen  articles  of  value  be¬ 
longing  to  the  family  were  committed  to  the  care  of  Jenny. 
Margaret  Graham,  another  sister,  is  still  living,  and  is  a 
woman  of  uncommon  bodily  strength  ;  so  much  so,  that  she 
is  considered  to  be  a  good  deal  stronger  than  the  generality 
of  men.  She  wTas  married  to  William  Davidson,  a  Gipsy, 
at  Wemyss.  They  have  a  large  family,  and  sell  earthenware 
through  the  country. 

John  Young,  who  stabbed  his  cousin,  Hugh  Graham,  was 
one  of  seven  sons,  and  though  above  five  feet  ten  inches  in 
height,  his  mother  used  to  call  him  “the  dwarf  o’  a’  my 
bairns.”  He  was  condemned  and  hanged  at  Aberdeen  for 
the  murder.  He  wrote  a  good  hand,  and  the  country-peo¬ 
ple  were  far  from  being  displeased  with  his  society,  while 
lie  was  employed  in  repairing  their  pots  and  pans  in  the  way 
of  his  calling.  Sarah  Graham,  his  mother,  was  of  the  high¬ 
est  Tinkler  mettle.  She  lost  a  forefinger  in  a  Gipsy  fray. 
Peter  Young,  another  son  of  Sarah’s,  was  also  hanged  at 
Edinburgh,  after  breaking  a  number  of  prisons  in  which  he 
was  confined.  He  is  spoken  of  as  a  singular  man.  Such 
was  his  generosity  of  character,  that  he  always  exerted  him¬ 
self  to  the  utmost  to  set  his  fellow-prisoners  free,  although 
they  happened  not  to  be  in  the  same  apartment  of  the 
prison.  The  life  of  this  man  was  published  about  the  time 
of  his  execution.  When  any  one  asked  old  John  Young 
where  his  sons  were,  his  reply  was,  “They  are  all  hanged.” 
They  were  seven  in  number,  and  it  was  certainly  a  fearful 
end  of  a  whole  family.  The  following  is  an  extract  of  a 
letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Blackwood,  from  Aberdeen,  relative 
to  Peter  Young  :  “It  is  said,  in  your  far-famed  magazine, 
that  Peter  Young,  brother  to  John  Young,  the  Gipsy,  like¬ 
wise  suffered  at  Aberdeen.  It  is  true  that  he  received  sen¬ 
tence  to  die  there,  but  the  prison  and  all  the  irons  the  per- 


146 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


sons  vere  able  to  load  him  with,  somehow  or  other,  were 
found  insufficient  to  prevent  him  from  making  his  escape. 
After  he  had  repeatedly  broken  loose,  and  had  been  as  often 
retaken,  the  magistrates  at  last  resolved  that  lie  should  be 
effectually  secured  ;  and,  for  that  purpose,  ordered  a  great 
iron  chain  to  be  provided,  and  Peter  to  be  fast  bound  in 
it.  As  the  jailer  was  making  everything,  as  he  thought, 
most  secure,  Peter,  with  a  sigh,  gazed  on  him,  and  said, 
‘Av,  ay,  I  winna  come  out  now  till  I  come  out  at  the 
door  making  him  believe  that  lie  would  not  be  able  to 
make  his  escape  again,  nor  come  out  till  the  day  fixed  for 
his  execution.  But  the  great  iron  chain,  bolts  and  bars, 
were  all  alike  unable  to  withstand  his  skill  and  strength  : 
he  came  out,  within  a  few  nights,  at  the  ‘  door,’  along  with 
such  of  his  fellow-prisoners  as  were  inclined  to  avail 
themselves  of  the  1  catch  but  he  was  afterwards  taken,  and 
conveyed  to  Edinburgh,  and  there  made  to  suffer  the  penalty 
which  his  crimes  deserved. — D.  C.”* 

*  Our  author  says  that  the  Life  of  Peter  Young  was  published.  The 
following  particulars,  quoted  in  an  account  of  the  Gipsies,  in  the  sixteenth 
volume  of  Chambers’  Miscellany,  are  probably  taken  from  that  source: 

“  Peter  was  Captain  of  a  band  well  known  in  the  north  of  Scotland, 
where  his  exploits  are  told  to  this  day.  Possessed  of  great  strength  of 
body,  and  very  uncommon  abilities,  he  was  a  fine  specimen  of  his  race, 
though  he  retained  all  their  lawless  propensities.  lie  was  proud,  passion¬ 
ate,  revengeful,  a  great  poacher,  and  an  absolute  despot,  although  a  toler¬ 
ably  just  one,  over  his  gang,  maintaining  his  authority  with  an  oak  stick, 
the  principal  sufferers  from  which  were  his  numerous  wives.” — “  He 
esteemed  himself  to  be  a  very  honourable  man,  and  the  keepers  of  the 
different  public-houses  in  the  country  seem  to  have  thought  that,  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  extent,  he  was  so.  He  never  asked  for  trust  as  long  as  he  had  a  half¬ 
penny  in  his  pocket.  At  the  different  inns  which  he  used  to  frequent,  lie 
was  seldom  or  never  denied  anything.  If  he  pledged  his  word  that  he 
would  pay  his  bill  the  next  time  he  came  that  way,  he  punctually  per¬ 
formed  his  promise.” 

“  Peter’s  work  was  that  of  a  very  miscellaneous  nature.  It  comprehended 
the  profession  of  a  blacksmith,  in  all  its  varieties,  a  tin-smith,  and  brazier. 
His  original  business  was  to  mend  pots,  pans,  kettles,  Ac.,  of  every  descrip¬ 
tion,  and  this  he  did  with  great  neatness  and  ingenuity.  Having  an  un¬ 
common  turn  for  mechanics,  lie  at  last  cleaned  and  repaired  clocks  and 
watches.  He  could  also  engrave  on  wood  or  metal;  so  also  could  his 
brother  John  ;  but  where  they  learned  any  of  these  arts  I  never  heard. 
Peter  was  very  handy  about  all  sorts  of  carpenter  work,  and  occasionally 
amused  himself,  when  the  fancy  seized  him,  in  executing  some  pieces  of 
curious  cabinet  work  that  required  neatness  of  hand.  He  was  particularly 
famous  in  making  fishing-rods,  and  in  the  art  of  fishing  he  was  surpassed 
by  few.” 

Immediately  before  one  of  the  days  fixed  for  his  execution,  he  seized  the 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


147 


Charles  Brown,  one  of  the  principal  members  of  the 
Lochgellie  band,  was  killed  in  a  desperate  fight  at  Raploch, 
near  Stirling.  A  number  of  Gipsy  boys,  belonging  to 
several  gangs  in  the  south,  obtained  a  considerable  quan¬ 
tity  of  plunder,  at  a  fair  in  Perth,  and  had,  in  the 
division  of  the  spoil,  somehow  or  another,  imposed  on  the 
Lochgellie  tribe,  and  their  associates.  Charles  Graham,  al¬ 
ready  mentioned,  and  Charles  Brown,  went  south  in  pursuit 
of  the  young  depredators,  for  the  purpose  of  compelling  them 
to  give  up  their  ill-gotten  booty  to  those  to  whom,  by  the 
Gipsy  regulations,  it  of  right  belonged.  After  an  arduous 
chase,  the  boys  were  overtaken  near  Stirling,  when  a  furi¬ 
ous  battle  immediately  commenced.  Both  parties  were 
armed  with  bludgeons.  After  having  fought  for  a  consider¬ 
able  time,  with  equal  success  on  both  sides,  Graham,  from 
some  unknown  cause,  fled,  leaving  his  near  relation,  Brown, 
to  contend  alone  with  the  youths;  in  the  best  way  he  could. 
The  boys  now  became  the  assailants,  and  began  to  press  hard 
upon  Brown,  who  defended  himself  long  and  manfully  with 
his  bludgeon,  displaying  much  art  in  the  use  of  his  weapon, 
in  warding  off  the  lighter  blows  of  his  opponents,  which 
came  in  upon  him  from  all  quarters.  At  length  he  was 
forced  to  give  way,  although  very  few  of  the  blows  reached 
his  person.  On  retreating,  with  his  front  to  his  assailants, 
his  foot  struck  upon  an  old  feal  dyke,  when  he  fell  to  the 
ground.  The  enraged  youths  now  sprang  in  upon  him,  like 
tigers,  and,  without  showing  him  the  least  mercy,  dispatched 
him  on  the  spot,  by  literally  beating  out  his  brains  with 
their  bludgeons.  Brown’s  coat  was  brought  home  to  Loch¬ 
gellie,  by  some  of  his  wife’s  friends,  with  the  collar  and 
shoulders  besmeared  all  over  with  blood  and  brains,  with 
quantities  of  his  hair  sticking  in  the  gore.  It  was  preserved 
for  some  time  in  this  shocking  condition  by  his  wife,  and  ex¬ 
hibited  as  a  proof  that  her  husband  had  not  fled,  as  well  as  to 

jailer,  and,  upon  the  threat  of  instant  death,  compelled  him  to  lay  on  his 
hark,  as  one  dead,  till  he  had  set  at  liberty  every  one  in  the  prison,  himself 
being1  the  last  to  leave  the  building.  After  travelling  twenty -four  miles, 
he  went  to  sleep  in  the  snow,  and  was  apprehended  by  a  company  of  sports¬ 
men,  whose  dogs  had  made  a  dead  set  at  him.  On  being  taken  to  the  gal¬ 
lows,  one  of  the  crowd  cried :  “  Peter,  deny  you  are  the  man  !” — which  he 
did,  declaring  that  his  name  was  John  Anderson,  and  wondered  what  the 
people  wanted  with  hint.  And  there  being  none  present  who  could  identify 
him,  although  he  was  well  known  in  Aberdeen,  he  managed  to  get  off 
clear. — Ed. 


148 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


arouse  the  clan  to  vengeance.  My  informant,  a  man  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  with  others,  saw  this  dreadful  relique  of 
Brown,  in  the  very  state  in  which  it  is  now  described. 

Alexander  Brown,  another  member  of  the  Lochgellie  band, 
happened,  on  one  occasion,  to  be  in  need  of  butcher  meat,  for 
his  tribe.  He  had  observed,  grazing  in  a  field,  in  the  county 
of  Linlithgow,  a  bullock  that  had,  by  some  accident,  lost  about 
three-fourths  of  its  tail.  He  procured  a  tail  of  a  skin  of  the 
same  colour  as  that  of  the  animal,  and,  in  an  ingenious  man¬ 
ner,  made  it  fast  to  the  remaining  part  of  its  tail.  Disguised 
in  this  way,  lie  drove  off  his  booty  ;  but  after  shipping  the 
beast  at  the  Quecns-ferry,  on  his  way  to  the  north,  a  ser¬ 
vant,  who  had  been  dispatched  in  quest  of  the  depredator, 
overtook  him  as  he  was  stepping  into  the  boat.  An  alterca¬ 
tion  immediately  commenced  about  the  ox.  The  country¬ 
man  said  he  could  swear  to  the  identity  of  the  animal  in 
Brown’s  possession,  were  it  not  for  its  long  tail  ;  and  was 
proceeding  to  examine  it  narrowly,  to  satisfy  himself  on  that 
particular,  when  the  ready-witted  Gipsy,  ever  fertile  in  ex¬ 
pedients  to  extricate  himself  from  difficulties,  took  his  knife 
out  of  his  pocket,  and,  in  view  of  all  present,  cut  off  the  tail 
above  the  juncture,  drawing  blood  instantly  ;  and,  throwing 
it  into  the  sea,  called  out  to  the  pursuer,  with  some  warmth  : 
“  Swear  to  the  ox  now,  and  be - to  ye.”  The  coun¬ 

tryman  said  not  another  word,  but  returned  home,  while  the 
Tinkler  proceeded  on  his  journey  with  his  prize.* 

*  Besides  getting  themselves  out  of  scrapes  in  such  an  adroit  manner,  the 
Scotch  Gipsies  have  been  known  to  serve  a  friend,  when  innocently  placed 
in  a  position  of  danger.  It  happened  once  that  Billy  Marshall,  the  Gipsy 
chief  in  Gallowayshire,  attacked  and  robbed  the  laird  of  Bargally,  and  in 
the  tussle  lost  his  cap.  A  respectable  farmer,  passing  by,  some  time  after¬ 
wards,  picked  up  the  cap,  and  put  it  on  his  head.  The  laird,  with  his  mind 
confused  by  the  robbery  and  the  darkness  combined,  accused  the  farmer  of 
the  crime;  and  it  would  have  gone  hard  with  him  at  the  trial,  had  not 
Billy  come  to  his  rescue.  lie  seized  the  cap,  in  the  open  court,  and,  putting 
it  on  his  head,  addressed  the  laird:  “  Look  at  me,  sir,  and  tell  me,  by  the 
oath  you  have  sworn,  am  not  I  the  man  that  robbed  you  ?’ — By  heaven  ! 
you  are  the  very  man.” — “  You  see  what  sort  of  memory  this  gentleman 
has,”  exclaimed  the  Gipsy;  ‘‘he  swears  to  the  bonnet,  whatever  features 
are  under  it.  If  you,  yourself,  my  lord,  will  put  it  on  your  head,  he  will 
be  willing  to  swear  that  your  lordship  was  the  person  who  robbed  him.” 
The  farmer  was  unanimously  acquitted. 

Notwithstanding  Billy’s  courage  in  “  taking  care  of  the  living’’  an  anec¬ 
dote  is  related  of  his  having  been  frightened  almost  out  of  his  wits,  under 
very  ludicrous  circumstances.  He  and  his  gang  had  long  held  possession 
of  a  cavern  in  Gallowayshire,  where  they  usually  deposited  their  plunder. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


149 


But  this  Gipsy  was  not  always  so  fortunate  as  he  was  on 
this  occasion.  Being  once  apprehended  near  Duiriblane,  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  messengers  to  carry  him  direct  to  Perth, 
but  they  were  under  the  necessity  of  lodging  him  in  the 
nearest  prison  for  the  night.  Brown  was  no  sooner  in  cus¬ 
tody  than  he  began  to  meditate  his  escape.  He  requested, 
as  a  favour,  that  the  officers  would  sit  up  all  night  with  him, 
in  a  public-house,  instead  of  a  prison,  promising  them  as 
much  meat  and  drink,  for  their  indulgence  and  trouble,  as 
they  should  desire.  His  request  having  been  granted,  four 
or  five  officers  were  placed  in  and  about  the  room  in  which 
he  was  confined,  as  a  guard  on  his  person,  being  aware  of 
the  desperate  character  they  had  to  deal  with.  He  took 
care  to  ply  them  well  with  the  bottle  ;  and  early  next  morn¬ 
ing,  before  setting  out,  he  desired  one  of  them  to  put  up  the 
window  a  little,  to  cool  the  apartment.  After  walking 
several  times  across  the  room,  the  Gipsy,  all  at  once,  threw 
himself  out  of  the  window,  which  was  a  considerable  height 
from  the  ground.  The  hue  and  cry  was  at  his  heels  in  an 
instant ;  and  as  some  of  the  messengers  were  gaining  on 
him,  he  boldly  faced  about,  drew  forth,  from  below  his  coat, 
a  dagger,  which  he  brandished  in  the  air,  and  threatened 
death  to  the  first  wdio  should  approach  him.  He  was,  on 
this  occasion,  suffered  to  make  his  escape,  as  none  had  the 
courage  to  advance  upon  him. 

When  in  full  dress,  Brown  wore  a  hat  richly  ornamented 
and  trimmed  with  beautiful  gold  lace,  which  was  then  fash¬ 
ionable  among  the  first  ranks  in  Scotland,  particularly 
among  the  officers  of  the  army.  His  coat  was  made  of 
superfine  cloth,  of  a  light  green  colour,  long  in  the  tails,  and 
having  one  row  of  buttons  at  the  breast.  His  shirt,  of  the 
finest  quality,  was  ruffled  at  hands  and  breast,  with  a  black 

and  sometimes  resided,  secure  from  tiie  officers  of  the  law.  Two  Highland 
pipers,  strangers  to  the  country,  happened  to  enter  it,  to  rest  themselves 
during  the  night.  They  perceived,  at  once,  the  character  of  its  absent  in¬ 
habitants;  and  they  were  not  long  within  it,  before  they  were  alarmed  by 
the  voices  of  a  numerous  band  advancing  to  its  entrance.  The  pipers, 
expecting  nothing  but  death  from  the  ruthless  Gipsies,  had  the  presence  of 
mind  to  strike  up  a  pibroch,  with  tremendous  fury  ;  at  the  terrific  recep¬ 
tion  of  which — the  yelling  of  the  bag-piipes  issuing  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth — Billy  and  his  gang  precipitately  fled,  as  before  a  blast  from  the  in¬ 
fernal  regions,  and  never  afterwards  dared  to  visit  their  favourite  haunt.  The 
pipers,  as  might  naturally  be  expected,  carried  off,  in  the  morning,  tho 
spoils  of  the  redoubted  Gipsies. — Sir  Walter  Scott . — En. 


150 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


stock  and  buckle  round  the  neck.  He  also  wore  a  pair  of 
handsome  boots,  with  silver-plated  spurs,  all  in  the  fashion 
of  the  day.  Below  his  garments  he  carried  a  large  knife, 
and  in  the  shaft  or  butt-end  of  his  large  whip,  a  small  spear, 
or  dagger,  was  concealed.  His  brother-in-law,  Wilson,  wras 
frequently  dressed  in  a  similar  garb,  and  both  rode  the  best 
horses  in  the  country.  Having  the  appearance  of  gentle¬ 
men  in  their  habits,  and  assuming  the  manners  of  such,  which 
they  imitated  to  a  wonderful  degree,  few  persons  took  these 
men  for  Gipsies.  Like  many  of  their  race,  they  are  repre¬ 
sented  as  having  been  very  handsome,  tall,  and  stout-made 
men,  with  agreeable  and  manly  countenances.  Among  the 
numerous  thefts  and  robberies  which  they  committed  in 
their  day,  they  were  never  known  to  have  taken  a  sixpence 
from  people  of  an  inferior  class,  but,  on  the  contrary,  rather 
to  have  assisted  the  poor  classes  in  their  pecuniary  matters, 
with  a  generous  liberality,  not  at  all  to  be  looked  for  from 
men  of  their  singular  habits  and  manner  of  life.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  particulars  are  descriptive  of  the  manner  and  style 
in  which  some  of  the  Gipsies  of  rank,  at  one  time,  traversed 
this  country. 

Within  these  forty-five  years,  Mr.  McRitchie,  already 
alluded  to,  happened  to  be  in  a  smithy,  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Carlisle,  getting  the  shoes  of  his  riding-horse  roughened 
on  a  frosty  day,  to  enable  him  to  proceed  on  his  journey, 
when  a  gentleman  called  for  a  like  purpose.  The  animal 
on  which  he  was  mounted  was  a  handsome  blood-horse,  which 
was  saddled  and  bridled  in  a  superior  manner.  He  was  himself 
dressed  in  superfine  clothes,  with  a  riding-whip  in  his  hand  ; 
was  booted  and  spurred,  with  saddle-bags  behind  him  ;  and 
had,  altogether,  man  and  horse,  the  equipment  and  appear¬ 
ance  of  a  smart  English  mercantile  traveller,  riding  in  the 
way  of  his  business.  There  being  several  horses  in  the 
smithy,  he,  in  a  haughty  and  consequential  manner,  enquired 
of  the  smith,  very  particularly,  -whose  turn  it  was  first :  in¬ 
dicating  a  strong  desire  to  be  first  served,  although  he  was 
the  last  that  had  entered  the  smithy.  Tins  bold  assurance 
made  my  acquaintance  take  a  steady  look  at  the  intrusive 
stranger,  whom  he  surveyed  from  head  to  foot.  And  what 
was  his  astonishment  when  he  found  the  mighty  gentleman 
to  be  no  other  than  Sandie  Brown,  the  Tinkler’s  son,  from 
the  neighbourhood  of  Crieff ;  whom  he  had  often  seen  stroll- 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


151 


ing  through  the  country  in  a  troop  of  Gipsies,  and  frequently 
in  his  father’s  house,  at  the  North  Queensferry.  He  could 
scarcely  believe  his  eyes,  so  to  prevent  any  disagreeable 
mistake,  politely  asked  the  “gentleman”  if  his  name  was  not 
Brown  ;  observing  that  he  thought  he  had  seen  him  some¬ 
where  before.  The  surprised  Tinkler  hesitated  considerably 
at  the  unexpected  question,  and,  after  having  put  some 
queries  on  his  part,  answered  that  “  he  would  not  deny 
himself — his  name  was  really  Brown.”  He  had,  in  all  like¬ 
lihood,  been  travelling  under  a  borrowed  name,  a  practice 
very  common  with  the  Gipsies.  When  he  found  himself 
detected,  yet  seeing  no  danger  to  be  apprehended  from  the 
accidental  meeting,  he  very  shrewdly  showed  great  marks 
of  kindness  to  his  acquaintance.  Being  now  quite  free  from 
embarrassment,  he,  in  a  short  time,  began  to  display,  as  is 
the  Gipsy  custom,  extraordinary  feats  of  bodily  strength, 
by  twisting  with  his  hands  strong  pieces  of  iron  ;  taking 
bets  regai’ding  his  power  in  these  practices,  with  those  who 
would  wager  with  him.  Before  parting  with  my  friend, 
Brown  very  kindly  insisted  upon  treating  him  with  a  bottle 
of  any  kind  of  liquor  he  would  choose  to  drink.  At  some 
sequestered  station  of  his  tribe,  on  his  way  home,  the  eques¬ 
trian  Tinkler  would  unmask  himself — dispose  of  his  horse, 
pack  up  his  fine  clothes,  and  assume  his  ragged  coat,  leathern 
apron,  and  budget — before  lie  would  venture  among  the 
people  of  the  country,  who  were  acquainted  with  his  real 
character.  Here  we  see  a  haughty,  overbearing,  highway 
robber,  clothed  in  excellent  apparel,  and  mounted  on  a  good 
steed,  metamorphose  himself,  in  an  instant,  into  a  poor, 
wandering,  beggarly,  and  pitiful  Gipsy. 

This  Alexander  Brown,  and  his  brother-in-law,  Wilson, 
carried  on  conjointly  a  considerable  trade  in  horse-stealing 
between  Scotland  and  England.  The  horses  which  were 
stolen  in  the  South  were  brought  to  Scotland,  aud  sold  there  ; 
those  stolen  in  Scotland  were,  on  the  other  hand,  disposed 
of  in  the  South  by  English  Gipsies.  The  crime  of  horse¬ 
stealing  lias  brought  a  great  many  of  these  wanderers  to  an 
untimely  end  on  the  gallows.  Brown  was  at  last  hanged  at 
Edinburgh,  to  expiate  the  many  crimes  he  had,  from  time 
to  time,  committed.  It  is  said  that  his  brother-in-law,  Wil¬ 
son,  was  hanged  along  with  him  on  the  same  day,  having 
been  also  guilty  of  a  number  of  crimes.  Brown  was  taken 


152 


A  ms  TORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


in  a  wood  in  Rannacli,  having  been  surprised  and  overpow¬ 
ered  by  a  party  of  Highlanders,  raised  for  the  purpose  of 
apprehending  him,  and  dispersing  his  band,  who  lay  in  the 
wood  in  which  he  was  captured.  He  thought  to  evade  them 
by  clapping  close  to  the  ground,  like  a  wild  animal.  Upon 
being  seized,  a  furious  scuffle  ensued  ;  and  during  the  vio¬ 
lent  tossing  and  struggling  which  took  place,  while  they 
were  securing  this  sturdy  wanderer,  he  took  hold  of  the 
bare  thigh  of  one  of  the  Highlanders,  and  bit  it  most  cru¬ 
elly.  Martha,  the  mother  of  Brown,  and  the  mother-in-law 
of  Wilson,  was  apprehended  in  the  act  of  stealing  a  pair  of 
sheets  while  attending  their  execution. 

Charles,  by  some  called  William,  a  brother  of  Alexander 
Brown,  was  run  down  by  a  party  of  the  military  and  some 
messengers,  near  Dundee.  He  was  carried  to  Perth,  where 
he  was  tried,  condemned  and  executed,  to  atone  for  the  nu¬ 
merous  crimes  of  which  he  was  guilty.  He  was  conveyed 
to  Perth  by  water,  in  consequence  of  it  being  reported  that 
the  Gipsies  of  Fife,  with  the  Grahams  and  Ogilvies  at  their 
head,  were  in  motion  to  rescue  him.  He,  also,  was  a  man 
of  great  personal  strength  ;  and  regretting,  after  being 
handcuffed,  having  allowed  himself  to  be  so  easily  taken,  he, 
in  wrath,  drove  the  messengers  before  him  with  his  feet,  as 
if  they  had  been  children.  While  in  the  apartment  of  the 
prison  called  the  condemned  cell,  or  the  cage,  he  freed  him¬ 
self  from  his  irons,  and  by  some  means  set  on  fire  the  damp 
straw  on  which  he  lay,  with  the  design  of  making  his  escape 
in  the  confusion.  Surprised  at  the  building  being  on  fire, 
and  suspecting  Brown  to  have  been  the  cause  of  it,  and  that 
he  was  free  from  his  chains,  ramping  like  a  lion  in  his  den, 
no  one,  in  the  hurry,  could  be  found  with  resolution  enough 
to  venture  near  him,  till  a  sergeant  of  the  forty-second  regi¬ 
ment  volunteered  his  services.  Before  he  would  face  the 
Tinkler,  however,  he  requested  authority  from  the  magis¬ 
trates  to  defend  himself  witli  his  broad-sword,  and,  in  case 
the  prisoner  became  desperate,  to  cut  him  down.  This  per¬ 
mission  being  obtained,  the  sergeant  drew  his  sword,  and, 
assisted  by  the  jailer’s  daughter,  unbarred  the  doors,  till  he 
came  to  the  cage,  whence  the  prison  was  being  filled  with 
smoke.  As  he  advanced  to  the  door,  he  asked  with  a  loud 
voice,  “  Who  is  there  ?”  “  The  devil,”  vociferated  the  Gipsy, 
through  fire  and  smoke.  “  I  am  also  a  devil,  and  of  the 


FIFE  AND  STIFLING  SHIRE  GIPSIES. 


1.53 


black- watch/’  thundered  back  the  intrepid  Highlander.  The 
resolute  reply  of  the  soldier  sounded  like  a  death  knell  to 
the  artful  Tinkler — lie  knew  his  man — it  daunted  him  com¬ 
pletely  ;  for,  after  some  threats  from  the  sergeant,  he  qui¬ 
etly  allowed  himself  to  be  again  loaded  with  irons,  and 
thoroughly  secured  in  his  cell,  whence  he  did  not  stir  till  the 
day  of  his  execution. 

Lizzy  Brown,  by  some  called  Snippy,  a  member  of  the 
same  family,  was  a  tall,  stout  woman,  with  features  far  from 
being  disagreeable.  She  lost  her  nose  in  a  battle,  fought  in 
the  shire  of  Angus.  In  this  rencounter,  the  Gipsies  fought 
among  themselves  with  highland  dirks,  exhibiting  all  the 
fury  of  hostile  tribes  of  Bedouin  Arabs  of  the  desert.  When 
this  woman  found  that  her  nose  was  struck  off,  by  the  sweep 
of  a  dirk,  she  put  her  hand  to  the  wound,  and,  as  if  little 
had  befallen  her,  called  out,  in  the  heat  of  the  scuffle,  to 
those  nearest  her:  “  But,  in  the 'middle  o’  the  meantime, 
where  is  my  nose  ?”  Poor  Lizzy’s  tall  figure  was  conspicu¬ 
ous  among  the  tribe,  owing  to  the  want  of  that  ornamental 
part  of  her  face. 

The  Grahams  of  Lochgellie,  the  Wilsons  of  Raploch,  near 
Stirling,  and  the  Jamiesons,  noticed  under  the  head  of  Lin¬ 
lithgowshire  Gipsies,  were  all,  by  the  female  side,  immedi¬ 
ately  descended  from  old  Charles  Stewart,  a  Gipsy  chief,  at 
one  period  of  no  small  consequence  among  these  hordes.* 
When  I  enquired  if  the  Robertsons,  who  lived,  at  one  time, 
at  Menstry,  were  related  to  the  Lochgellie  band,  the  answer 
which  I  received  was  :  “  The  Tinklers  are  a’  sib” — meaning 
that  they  are  all  connected  with  one  another  by  the  ties  of 
blood,  and  considered  as  one  family.  This  is  a  most  power¬ 
ful  bond  of  union  among  these  desperate  clans,  which  almost 
bids  defiance  to  the  breaking  up  of  their  strongly  ce¬ 
mented  society.  Old  Charles  Stewart  was  described  to 
me  as  a  stout,  good-looking  man,  with  a  fair  complexion  ; 
and  I  was  informed  that  he  lived  to  a  great  age.  He  af¬ 
firmed,  wherever  he  went,  that  he  was  a  descendant  of  the 
royal  Stewarts  of  Scotland.  His  descendants  still  assert 
that  they  are  sprung  from  the  royal  race  of  Scotland.  In 

*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  three  criminals  who  gave  occasion  to 
the  Porteous  mob,  in  1736,  were  named  Stewart,  Wilson  and  Robertson. 
They  were  doubtless  Gipsies  of  the  above  mentioned  clans.  Their  crimes 
and  modes  of  escape  were  quite  in  keeping  with  the  character  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies. — Ed. 


7* 


154 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


support  of  this  pretension,  Stewart,  in  the  year  1774,  at  a 
wedding,  in  the  parish  of  Corstorphine,  actually  wore  a  large 
'cocked  hat,  decorated  with  a  beautiful  plume  of  white  fea¬ 
thers,  in  imitation  of  the  white  cockade  of  the  Pretender. 
On  this  occasion,  he  wore  a  short  coat,  philabeg  and  purse, 
and  tartan  hose.  He  sometimes  wore  a  piece  of  brass,- as  a 
star,  on  his  left  breast,  with  a  cudgel  in  his  hand.  Such 
ridiculous  attire  corresponds  exactly  with  the  taste  and 
ideas  of  a  Gipsy.*  These  pretensions  of  Stewart  are  ex¬ 
actly  of  a  piece  with  the  usual  Gipsy  policy  of  mak¬ 
ing  the  people  believe  that  they  are  descended  from  families 
of  rank  and  influence  in  the  country.  At  the  same  time,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  some  of  our  Scottish  kings,  especially 
James  Y,  the  “  Gaberlunzie-man,”f  were  far  from  being  scrup¬ 
ulous  or  fastidious  in  their  vague  amours.  As  old  Charles 
Stewart  was,  on  one  occasion,  crossing  the  Forth,  atQueens- 
ferry,  chained  to  his  son-in-law,  Wilson,  in  charge  of  messen¬ 
gers,  he,  with  considerable  shame  in  his  countenance,  ob¬ 
served  David  McRitchie,  whose  father,  as  already  mentioned, 
kept  a  first-rate  inn  at  the  north-side,  and  in  which  the 
Tinkler  had  frequently  regaled  himself  with  his  merry  com¬ 
panions.  Stewart  called  McRitchie  to  him,  and,  taking  five 
shillihgs  out  of  his  pocket,  said  to  him,  “  Hae,  Davie,  there’s 
five  shillings  to  drink  my  health,  man  ;  I’ll  laugh  at  them 

*  Grcllmann,  in  giving  an  account  of  the  attire  of  the  poorer  kind  of  Hun¬ 
garian  Gipsies,  says:  We  are  not  to  suppose  however  that  they  are  indif¬ 
ferent  about  dress ;  on  the  contrary,  they  love  fine  clothes  to  an  extrava¬ 
gant  degree.  Whenever  an  opportunity  offers  of  acquiring  a  good  coat, 
either  by  gift,  purchase,  or  theft,  the  Gipsy  immediately  bestirs  himself  to 
become  master  of  it.  Possessed  of  the  prize,  he  puts  it  on  directly,  with¬ 
out  considering  in  the  least  whether  it  suits  the  rest  of  his  apparel.  If  his 
dirty  shirt  had  holes  in  it  as  big  as  a  barn  door,  or  his  breeches  so  out  of 
condition  that  any  one  might,  at  the  first  glance,  perceive  their  antiquity ; 
were  he  unprovided  with  shoes  and  stockings,  or  a  covering  for  his  head  ; 
none  of  these  defects  would  prevent  his  strutting  about  in  a  laced  coat, 
feeling  himself  of  still  greater  consequence  in  case  it  happened  to  be  a  red 
one.  They  are  particularly  fond  of  clothes  which  have  been  worn  by  peo¬ 
ple  of  distinction,  and  will  hardly  ever  deign  to  put  on  a  boor’s  coat.  They 
will  rather  go  half  naked,  or  wrap  themselves  up  in  a  sack,  than  condescend 
to  wear  a  foreign  garb.  Green  is  a  favourite  colour  with  the  Gipsies,  but 
scarlet  is  held  in  great  esteem  among  them.  It  is  the  same  with  the  Hun¬ 
garian  female  Gipsies.  In  Spain,  they  hang  all  sorts  of  trumpery  in  their 
ears,  and  baubles  around  their  necks. 

Mr.  Borrow  says  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  that  there  is  nothing  in  the 
dress  of  either  sex  differing  from  that  of  the  other  inhabitants.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  the  Scottish  tribes,  and  even  of  those  in  England. — Ed. 

f  Gaberlunzie-man — The  beggar-man  with  the  ragged  apparel. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


155 


a’.  ”  He  did  laugh  at  them  all,  for  nothing  couhl  be  proved 
against  him  and  he  was  immediately  set  at  liberty.  It  was, 
as  Charles  Graham  said — “  The  auld.  thing  again,  butnac*- 
proof.”* 

Another  very  singular  Gipsy,  of  the  name  of  Jamie  Rob¬ 
ertson,  a  near  relation  of  the  Lochgellic  tribe,  resided  at 
Menstry,  at  the  foot  of  the  Ochil  hills.  James  was  an  ex¬ 
cellent  musician,  and  was  in  great  request  at  fairs  and  coun¬ 
try  weddings.  Although  characterized  by  a  dissoluteness 
of  manners,  and  professed  roguery,  this  man,  when  trusted, 
was  strictly  honest.  A  decent  man  in  the  neighbourhood, 
of  the  name  of  Robert  Gray,  many  a  time  lent  him  sums  of 
money,  to  purchase  large  ox  horns  and  other  articles,  in  the 
east  of  Fife,  which  he  always  repaid  on  the  very  day  he 
promised,  with  the  greatest  correctness  and  civility.  The 
following  anecdote  will  show  the  zeal  with  which  he  would 
resent  an  insult  which  he  conceived  to  be  offered  to  his 
friend  :  In  one  of  his  excursions  through  Fife,  he  happened 
to  be  lying  on  the  ground,  basking  himself  in  the  sun,  while 
baiting  his  ass,  on  the  roadside,  when  a  countryman,  an 
entire  stranger  to  him,  came  past,  singing,  in  lightness  of 
heart,  the  song  of  “Auld  Robin  Gray,”  which,  unfortunately 
for  the  man,  Robertson  had  never  heard  before.  On  the 
unconscious  stranger  coming  to  the  words  “  Auld  Robin 
Gray  was  a  kind  man  to  me,”  the  hot-blooded  Gipsy  started 
to  his  feet,  and,  with  a  volley  of  oaths,  felled  him  with  his 
bludgeon  to  the  ground  ;  repeating  his  blows  in  the  most 
violent  manner,  and  telling  him,  “  Auld  Robin  Gray  was  a 
kind  man  to  him  indeed,  but  it  was  not  for  him  to  make  a 
song  on  Robin  for  that.”  In  short,  he  nearly  put  the  inno- 

*  The  unabashed  hardihood  of  the  Gipsies,  in  the  face  of  suspicion,  or 
even  of  open  conviction,  is  not  less  characteristic  than  the  facility  with 
which  they  commit  crimes,  or  their  address  in  concealing  them.  A  Gipsy 
of  note,  (known  by  the  title  of  the  “  Earl  of  Hell,”)  was,  about  twenty  years 
ago,  tried  for  a  theft  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money  at  a  Dalkeith  market. 
The  proof  seemed  to  the  judge  fully  sufficient,  but  the  jury  rendered  a  ver¬ 
dict  of  “  not  proven.”  On  dismissing  the  prisoner  from  the  bar,  the  judge 
informed  him,  in  his  own  characteristic  language,  “  That  he  had  rubbit 
shouthers  wi’  the  gallows  that  morning  and  warned  him  not  again  to 
appear  there  with  a  similar  body  of  proof  against  him.  as  it  seemed  scarcely 
possible  he  should  meet  with  another  jury  who  would  construe  it  as  fa¬ 
vourably.  His  counsel  tendered  him  a  similar  advice.  The  Gipsy,  how¬ 
ever,  replied,  to  the  great  entertainment  of  all  around,  “  That  he  was  proven 
an  innocent  man,  and  that  naebody  had  ony  right  to  use  siccan  language 
to  him.” — Blacki-ood's  Magazine. — Ed. 


156 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


cent  man  to  death,  in  the  heat  of  his  passion,  for  satirizing, 
as  he  thought,  his  friend  in  a  scurrilous  song.  It  was  an  in¬ 
variable  custom  with  Robertson,  whenever  he  passed  Robert 
Gray’s  house,  even  were  it  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  to 
draw  out  his  “  bread  winner,”  and  give  him  a  few  of  his 
best  airs,  in  gratitude  for  his  kindness. 

Robertson’s  wife,  a  daughter  of  Martha,  whose  son  and 
son-in-law,  Brown  and  Wilson,  were  executed,  as  already 
mentioned,  was  sentenced  to  transportation  to  Botany  Bay  ; 
but,  owing  to  her  advanced  years,  it  was  not  thought  worth 
the  expense  and  trouble  of  sending  her  over  seas,  and  she 
was  set  at  liberty.  Her  grandson,  Joyce  Robertson,  would 
also  have  been  transported,  if  not  hanged,  but  for  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  some  of  his  clan  rescuing  him  from  Stirling  jail. 
So  coolly  and  deliberately  did  he  go  about  his  operations,  in 
breaking  out  of  the  prison,  that  he  took  along  with  him  his 
oatmeal  bag,  and  a  favourite  bird,  in  a  cage,  with  'which  he 
had  amused  himself  during  his  solitary  confinement.  The 
following  anecdote  of  this  audacious  Gipsy,  which  was  told 
to  me  by  an  inhabitant  of  Stirling,  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  the  parties,  is,  I  believe,  unequalled  in  the  history  of 
robberies  :  While  Robertson  was  lying  in  jail,  an  old  man, 
for  wdiat  purpose  is  not  mentioned,  went  to  the  prison  win¬ 
dow,  to  speak  to  him  through  the  iron  staunoheons.  Joyce, 
putting  forth  his  hand,  took  hold  of  the  unsuspecting  man 
by  the  breast  of  his  coat,  and  drew  him  close  up  to  the  iron 
bars  of  the  window  ;  then  thrusting  out  his  other  hand,  and 
pointing  a  glittering  knife  at  his  heart,  threatened  him  with 
instant  death,  if  he  did  not  deliver  him  the  money  he  had  on 
him.  The  poor  man,  completely  intimidated,  handed  into 
the  prison  all  the  money  he  had ;  but  had  it  returned,  on 
the  jailer  being  informed  of  the  extraordinary  transaction.* 
After  escaping  from  confinement,  this  Gipsy  stole  a  watch 
from  a  house  at  Alva,  but  had  hardly  got  it  into  his  posses¬ 
sion  before  he  was  discovered,  and  had  the  inhabitants  of 
the  village  in  pursuit  of  him.  A  man,  of  the  name  of  Daw¬ 
son,  met  liim  in  his  flight,  and,  astonished  at  seeing  the  crowd 
at  his  heels,  enquired,  impatiently,  what  was  the  matter. 

*  The  “  game”  of  such  a  Gipsy  may  be  fitly  compared  to  that  of  a 
sparrow-hawk.  This  bird  has  been  known,  while  held  in  the  band,  after 
being  wounded,  to  seize,  'vyhen  presented  to  it,  a  sparrow  with  each  claw, 
and  a  third  with  its  beak. — Ed. 


FIFE  AND  STIFLING  SHIRE  GIPSIES. 


157 


“They  are  all  running  after  me,  and  you  will  soon  run  too,” 
replied  tlie  Tinkler,  without  shortening  his  step.  He  took 
to  Tullibody  plantations,  but  was  apprehended,  and  had  the 
watch  taken  from  him. 

I  will  notice  another  principal  Gipsy,  closely  connected 
by  blood  with  the  Fife  bands,  and  of  that  rank  that  entitled 
him  to  issue  tokens  to  the  members  of  his  tribe.  The  name 
of  this  chief  Was  Charles  Wilson,  and  his  place  of  residence, 
at  one  time,  was  Raploch,  close  by  Stirling  castle,  where  he 
possessed  some  heritable  property  in  houses.  lie  was  a 
stout,  athletic,  good-looking  man,  fully  six  feet  in  stature, 
and  of  a  fair  complexion  ;  and  was,  in  general,  handsomely 
dressed,  frequently  displaying  a  gold  watch,  with  many  seals 
attached  to  its  chain.  In  his  appearance  he  was  respectable, 
very  polite  in  his  manners,  and  had,  altogether,  little  or 
nothing  about  him  which,  at  first  sight,  or  to  the  general 
public,  indicated  him  to  be  a  Gipsy.  But,  nevertheless,  I 
was  assured  by  one  of  the  tribe,  who  was  well  acquainted 
with  him,  that  lie  spoke  the  language,  and  observed  all  the 
customs,  and  followed  the  practices  of  the  Gipsies. 

He  was  a  pretty  extensive  horse-dealer,  having  at  times 
in  his  possession  numbers  of  the  best  bred  horses  in  the 
country.  He  most  commonly  bought  and  sold  hunters,  and 
such  as  were  suitable  for  cavalry  ;  and  for  some  of  his  horses 
he  received  upwards  of  a  hundred  guineas  apiece.  In  his 
dealings  he  always  paid  cash  for  his  purchases,  but  accepted 
bills  from  his  customers  of  respectability.  Many  a  one  pur¬ 
chased  horses  of  him  ;  and  he  was  taken  notice  of  by  many 
respectable  people  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  but  the  community 
in  general  looked  upon  him,  and  his  people,  with  suspicion 
and  fear,  and  were  by  no  means  fond  of  quarrelling  with 
any  of  his  vindictive  fraternity.  When  any  of  his  customers 
required  a  horse  from  him,  and  told  him  that  the  matter  was 
left  wholly  to  himself,  as  regards  price,  but  to  provide  an 
animal  suitable  for  the  purpose  required,  no  man  in  Scotland 
would  act  with  greater  honour  than  Charles  Wilson.  He 
would  then  fit  his  employer  completely,  and  charge  for  the 
horse  exactly  what  the  price  should  be.  To  this  manner  of 
dealing  he  was  very  averse,  and  endeavoured  to  avoid  it  as 
much  as  possible.  It  is  said  he  was  never  known  to  deceive 
any  one  in  his  transactions,  -when  entire  confidence  was 
placed  in  him.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  when  any  tried  to 


158 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


make  a  bargain  with  him,  without  any  reference  to  himself, 
but  trusting  wholly  to  their  own  judgment,  he  would  take 
three  prices  for  his  horses,  if  he  could  obtain  them,  and 
cheat  them,  if  it  was  in  his  power.  It  is  said  his  people 
stole  horses  in  Ireland,  and  sent  them  to  him,  to  dispose  of 
in  Scotland.  On  one  occasion  his  gang  stole  and  sold  in 
Edinburgh,  Stirling  and  Dumbarton  a  grey  stallion,  three 
different  times  in  one  week.  Wilson  himself  was  almost 
always  mounted  on  a  blood-horse  of  the  highest  mettle. 

At  one  time,  Charles  Wilson  travelled  the  country  with  a 
horse  and  cart,  vending  articles  which  his  gang  plundered 
from  shops  in  Glasgow  and  other  places.  He  had  an  asso¬ 
ciate  who  kept  a  regular  shop,  and  when  Wilson  happened 
to  be  questioned  about  his  merchandise,  he  always  had  fic¬ 
titious  bills  of  particulars,  invoices  and  receipts,  ready  to 
show  that  the  goods  were  lawfully  purchased  from  his  mer¬ 
chant,  who  was  no  other  than  his  friend  and  associate.  As 
Charles  was  chief  of  his  tribe,  he  received  the  title  of  cap¬ 
tain,  to  distinguish  him  from  the  meaner  sort  of  his  race. 
Like  others  of  his  rank  among  the  Gipsies,  he  generally  had 
a  numerous  gang  of  youths  in  fairs,  plundering  for  him  in  all 
directions,  among  the  heedless  and  unthinking  crowd.  But 
he  always  managed  matters  with  such  art  and  address  that, 
however  much  he  might  be  suspected,  no  evidence  could 
ever  be  found  to  show  that  he  acted  a  part  in  such  transac¬ 
tions.  It  was  well  understood,  however,  that  Charlie,  as 
he  was  commonly  called,  divided  the  contents  of  many  a 
purse  with  his  band  ;  all  the  plundered  articles  being  in 
fact  brought  to  him  for  distribution. 

This  chief,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  issued  tokens  to 
the  members  of  his  own  tribe  ;  a  part  of  the  polity  of  the 
Gipsies  which  will  be  fully  described  in  the  following  chap¬ 
ter.  But,  besides  these  regular  Gipsy  tokens,  he,  like  many 
of  his  nation,  gave  tokens  of  protection  to  his  particular 
friends  of  the  community  at  large.  The  following  is  one 
instance,  among  many,  of  this  curious  practice  among  the 
Gipsies.  I  received  the  particulars  from  the  individual 
himself  who  obtained  the  token  or  passport  from  Wilson. 
My  informant,  Mr.  Buchanan,  a  retired  officer  of  the  Excise, 
chanced,  in  his  youth,  to  be  in  a  fair  at  Skirling,  in  Peebles¬ 
shire,  when  an  acquaintance  of  his,  of  the  name  of  John 
Smith,  of  Carnwath  Mill,  received,  in  a  tent,  fifty  pounds 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


159 


for  horses  which  he  had  sold  in  the  market.  Wilson,  who 
was  acquainted  with  both  parties,  was  in  the  tent  at  the 
time,  and  saw  the  latter  receive  the  money.  On  leaving  the 
tent,  Smith  mentioned  to  his  friend  that  he  was  afraid  of 
being  robbed  in  going  home,  as  Wilson  knew  he  had  money 
in  his  possession.  Mr.  Buchanan,  being  well  acquainted 
with  Wilson,  went  to  him  in  the  fair,  and  told  him  the  plain 
facts  ;  that  Smith  and  himself  were  to  travel  with  money  on 
their  persons,  and  that  they  were  apprehensive  of  being 
robbed  of  it,  on  their  way  home.  The  Gipsy,  after  hesi¬ 
tating  for  a  moment,  gave  Buchanan  a  pen-knife,  which  he 
was  to  show  to  the  first  person  who  should  offer  to  molest 
them  ;  at  the  same  time  enjoining  him  to  keep  the  affair 
quite  private.  After  my  informant  and  his  friend  had 
travelled  a  considerable  distance  on  their  way  home,  they 
observed,  at  a  little  distance  before  them,  a  number  of 
Tinklers— men  and  women — fighting  together  on  the  side 
of  the  road.  One  of  the  females  came  forward  to  the 
travellers,  and  urged  them  vehemently  to  assist  her  husband, 
who,  she  said,  was  like  to  be  murdered  by  others  who  had 
fallen  upon  him  on  the  highway.  My  friend  knew  quite 
well  that  all  the  fighting  was  a  farce,  got  up  for  the  purpose 
of  robbing  him  and  his  companion,  the  moment  they  inter¬ 
fered  with  the  combatants  in  their  feigned  quarrel.  Instead 
of  giving  the  woman  the  assistance  she  asked,  he  privately 
and  very  quietly,  as  if  he  wished  nobody  to  see  it,  showed 
her  Wilson’s  knife  in  his  hand,  when  she  immediately  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  You  are  our  friends,”  and  called,  at  the  same 
moment,  to  those  engaged  in  the  scuffle,  in  words  to  the 
same  effect.  Both  the  travellers  now  passed  on,  but,  on 
looking  behind  them,  they  observed  that  the  squabble  had 
entirely  ceased.  The  pen-knife  was  returned  to  AVilson  the 
day  following. 

I  may  give,  in  this  place,  another  instance  of  these  tokens 
being  granted  by  the  Gipsies  to  their  particular  favourites 
of  the  community.  The  particulars  were  given  to  me  by 
the  individual  with  whom  the  incident  occurred  ;  and  the 

Gipsy  mentioned  I  have  myself  seen  and  spoken  to  :  A - 

A - ,  a  small  farmer,  who  resided  in  the  west  of  Fife, 

happened  to  be  at  one  of  the  Falkland  fairs,  where,  in  the 
evening,  he  fell  in  with  old  Andrew  Steed  man,  a  Gipsy  horse- 
dealer  from  Lochgellie,  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted. 


160 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


They  entered  a  public-house  in  Falkland  to  have  a  dram  to¬ 
gether,  before  leaving  the  fair,  and  after  some  conversation 
had  passed,  on  various  subjects,  Stcedman  observed  to  his 
acquaintance  that  it  would  be  late  in  the  night  before  he 
could  reach  his  home,  and  that  he  might  be  exposed  to  some 
danger  on  the  road  ;  but  lie  would  give  him  his  snuff-box, 
to  present  and  offer  a  snuff  to  the  first  person  who  should 
offer  to  molest  him.  My  informant,  possessed  of  the  Gipsy’s 
snuff-box,  mounted  his  horse,  and  left  his  acquaintance  and 
Falkland  behind  for  his  home.  He  had  not  proceeded  far 
on  his  journey,  before  a  man  in  the  dark  seized  the  bridle 
of  his  horse,  and  ordered  him  to  stop  ;  without,  however, 
enforcing  his  command  to  surrender  in  that  determined  tone 
and  manner  common  to  highwaymen  with  those  they  intend 
to  rob.  The  farmer  at  once  recognized  the  robber  to  be  no 
other  than  young  Charles  Graham,  one  of  the  Locbgellie 
Tinklers,  whom  he  personally  knew.  Instead  of  delivering 
him  his  purse,  he  held  out  to  him  the  snuff-box,  as  if  nothing 
had  happened,  and,  offering  him  a  pinch,  asked  him  if  he  was 
going  to  Lochgellic  to-night.  A  sort  of  parley  now  ensued, 
the  farmer  feeling  confident  in  the  strength  of  his  protec¬ 
tion,  and  Graham  confounded  at  being  recognized  by  an  ac¬ 
quaintance  whom  he  was  about  to  rob,  and  who,  moreover, 
was  in  possession  of  a  Gipsy  token.  At  first  a  dry  conver¬ 
sation  ensued,  similar  to  that  between  persons  unacquainted 
with  each  other  when  they  happen  to  meet ;  but  Graham, 
recovering  his  self-possession,  soon  became  very  frank  and 
kind,  and  insisted  on  the  farmer  accompanying  him  to  a 
public-house  on  the  road-side,  where  he  would  treat  him  to 
a  dram.  The  farmer,  a  stout,  athletic  man,  and  no  coward, 
complied  with  the  Gipsy’s  invitation  without  hesitation. 
While  drinking  their  liquor,  Graham  took  up  the  snuff-box, 
and  examined  it  all  over  very  attentively,  by  the  light  of 
the  candle,  and  returned  it,  without  making  a  single  remark, 
relative  either  to  the  untoward  occurrence  or  the  snuff-box 
itself.  The  farmer  was  equally  silent  as  to  what  had  taken 
place  ;  but  he  could  not  help  noticing  the  particular  manner 
in  which  the  Gipsy  examined  the  token.  They  drank  a 
hearty  dram  together,  and  parted  the  best  of  friends ;  the 
farmer  for  his  home,  and  Graham,  as  he  supposed,  for  the 
highway,  to  exercise  his  calling.  Graham,  about  this  period, 
resided  in  a  house  belonging  to  Steedman,  in  Lochgellie. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


161 


Instances  occurred  of  individuals,  who  happened  to  be 
plundered,  applying  to  Charles  Wilson  for  his  assistance  to 
recover  their  property.  The  particulars  of  the  following 
case  are  in  the  words  of  a  friend  who  gave  me  the  anec¬ 
dote  :  “A  boy,  having  received  his  hard-earned  fee,  at  the 
end  of  a  term,  set  out  for  Stirling  to  purchase  some  clothes 
for  himself.  On  the  road  he  was  accosted  by  two  men,  who 
conversed  with  and  accompanied  him  to  Stirling.  The  lad 
proceeded  accordingly  to  fit  himself  in  a  shop  with  a  new 
suit,  but,  to  his  utter  disappointment  and  grief,  his  small 
penny-fee  was  gone.  The  merchant  questioned  him  about 
the  road  he  had  come,  and  whether  he  had  been  in  company 
with  any  one  on  the  way  or  otherwise.  Upon  the  appear¬ 
ance  of  his  companions  being  described,  the  shop-keeper 
suspected  they  might  have  picked  his  pocket  unobserved. 
As  a  last  resource,  the  boy  was  advised  to  call  upon  Charlie 
Wilson,  and  relate  to  him  the  particulars  of  his  misfortune  ; 
which  he  accordingly  did.  Charles  heard  his  story  to  the 
end,  and  desired  him  to  call  next  day,  when  he  might  be 
able  to  give  him  some  information  relative  to  his  loss.  The 
young  lad  kept  the  appointment,  and,  to  his  great  joy,  the 
Tinkler  chief  paid  him  down  every  farthing  of  his  lost 
money  ;  but  at  the  same  time  told  him  to  ask  no  questions.” 

This  Gipsy  chief  died  within  these  thirty-fiveyears  in  his  own 
house,  on  the  castle-hill  at  Stirling,  whither  he  had  removed 
from  Raploch.  It  is  stated  that,  for  a  considerable  time  be¬ 
fore  his  deatli,  he  relinquished  his  former  practices,  and  died 
in  full  communion  with  the  church.*  He  was,  about  the 
latter  end  of  his  life,  reduced  to  considerable  poverty,  and 
was  under  the  necessity  of  betaking  himself  to  his  original 
occupation  of  making  horn  spoons  for  a  subsistence.  In 
the  days  of  his  prosperity,  Charles  was  considered  a  very 
kind-hearted  and  generous  man  to  the  poor  ;  and  it  seldom 
happened  that  poverty  and  distress  were  not  relieved  by 
him,  when  application  was  made  to  him  by  the  needy.  Al¬ 
though  many  of  the  more  original  kind  of  Gipsies  have  a 
respectable  appearance,  and  may  possess  a  little  money, 
during  the  prime  of  life,  yet  the  most  of  them,  in  their  old 
age,  are  in  a  condition  of  poverty  and  misery. 

*  In  the  “  Monthly  Visitor,”  for  February,  1850,  will  be  found  an  account 
of  the  conversion  of  one  of  this  Gipsy  clan,  of  the  name  of  Jeanie  Wilson. 
The  tract  is  very  appropriately  headed,  “A  lily  among  thorns.” — Ed. 


1G2 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GirSIES. 


Charles  Wilson  had  a  family  of  very  handsome  daughters, 
one  of  whom  was  considered  a  perfect  beauty.  She  did  not 
travel  the  country,  like  the  rest  of  her  family,  but  remained 
at  home,  and  acted  as  her  father’s  housekeeper  ;  and,  when 
any  of  the  tribe  visited  him,  they  always  addressed  her  by 
the  title  of  “my  lady,”  ( raunie ,)  and  otherwise  treated  her 
with  great  respect.  This  beautiful  girl  was,  about  the  year 
1795,  kept  as  a  mistress  by  an  adjutant  of  a  Scotch  regiment 
of  feucible  cavalry.  She  was  frequently  seen  as  handsomely 
and  fashionably  attired  as  the  first  females  in  Stirling  ;  and 
some  of  the  troopers  were  not  displeased  to  see  their  adju¬ 
tant’s  mistress  equal  in  appearance  to  the  highest  dames  in 
the  town.  But  Wilson’s  daughters  were  all  frequently 
dressed  in  a  very  superior  manner,  and  could  not  have  been 
taken  for  Gipsies. 

To  suit  their  purposes  of  deception,  in  practising  their 
pilfering  habits,  the  female  Gipsies,  as  well  as  the  males, 
often  changed  their  wearing  apparel.  Some  of  them  have 
been  seen  in  four  different  dresses  in  one  fair  day,  varying 
from  the  appearance  of  a  sturdy  female  beggar  to  that  of  a 
young,  flirting  wench,  fantastically  dressed,  and  throwing 
herself,  a  perfect  lure,  in  the  way  of  the  hearty,  ranting, 
half-intoxicated,  and  merry  young  farmers,  for  the  sole  pur¬ 
pose  of  stripping  them  of  their  money.*  The  following  is 
given  as  an  instance  of  this  sort  of  female  deception  : — -On  a 
fair-day,  in  the  town  of  Kinross,  a  Brae-laird, t  in  the  same 
county,  fell  in  with  a  Gipsy  harpy  of  the  above  character, 
of  the  name  of  Wilson,  one  of  Charles’  daughters,  it  was 
understood.  She  had  a  fine  pex-son,  an  agreeable  and  pre¬ 
possessing  countenance,  was  handsomely  dressed,  and  was, 
altogether,  what  one  would  pronounce  a  pretty  girl.  Her 
charms  made  a  very  sudden  and  deep  impression  on  the  sus¬ 
ceptible  laird  ;  and  as  it  was  an  easy  matter,  in  those  times, 

*  An  old  woman,  whom  I  found  occupying  the  house  of  Charles  Wilson, 
at  Rnploch,  in  1845,  informed  me  that  she  had  seen  his  wife  in  five  differ¬ 
ent.  dresses,  in  one  market-day.  She  was,  at  the  time,  a  servant  in  a  black¬ 
smith’s  family  in  Stirling,  who  were  great  friends  of  Charles  Wilson ;  and 
every  time  Mrs.  Wilson  came  into  the  smith’s  house,  from  her  plundering 
in  the  market,  this  servant  girl,  then  nine  years  old,  cleaned  her  shoes  for  a 
fresh  expedition  in  the  crowd.  When  suspected,  or  even  detected,  in  their 
practices,  these  female  Gipsies,  by  such  change  of  dress  and  character, 
easily  escaped  apprehension  by  the  authorities. 

t  There  are  a  number  of  small  landed  proprietors  in  the  hilly  parts  of 
Kinross-shire  ;  hence  the  appellation  of  Brae-laird. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


163 


to  make  up  acquaintance  at  these  large  and  promiscuous 
gatherings,  the  enamoured  rustic  soon  found  means  to  intro¬ 
duce  himself  to  the  stranger  lady.  He  treated  her  in  a 
gallant  manner,  and  engaged  to  pay  his  respects  to  her  at 
her  place  of  residence.  It  happened,  however,  that  a  num¬ 
ber  of  Tinklers  were,  that  very  evening,  apprehended  in  the 
fair,  for  picking  pockets,  and  a  great  many  purses  were 
found  in  their  custody.  Proclamation  was  made  by  the 
authorities,  that  all  those  who  had  lost  their  money  should 
appear  at  a  place  named,  and  identify  their  property.  The 
Brae-laird,  among  others,  missed  his  pocket-book  and  purse, 
and  accordingly  went  to  enquire  after  them.  His  purse  was 
produced  to  him  ;  but  greatly  was  he  ashamed  and  mortified 
when  the  thief  was  also  shown  to  him,  lying  in  prison — the 
very  person  of  his  handsome  and  beautiful  sweetheart,  now 
metamorphosed  into  a  common  Tinkler  wench.  Whether  he 
now  provoked  the  ire  of  his  dulcinea,  by  harsh  treatment,  is 
not  mentioned  ;  but  the  woman  sent,  as  it  were,  a  dagger  to 
his  heart,  by  calling  out  before  all  present :  “Ay,  laird, ye’re 
no  sae  kind  to  me  noo,  lad,  as  when  ye  treated  me  wi’  wine 
in  the  forenoon.”  The  man,  confounded  at  his  exposure, 
was  glad  to  get  out  of  her  presence,  and,  rather  than  bear 
the  cutting  taunts  of  the  Gipsy,  fled  from  the  place  of  inves¬ 
tigation,  leaving  his  money  behind  him.* 

It  is  almost  needless  to  mention  that  the  Stirlingshire 
Gipsies  contributed  their  full  proportion  to  the  list  of  victims 
to  the  offended  laws  of  the  country.  Although  Charles 
Wilson,  the  chieftain  of  the  horde,  dexterously  eluded  justice 
himself,  two  of  his  brothers  were  executed  within  the  mem¬ 
ory  of  people  still  living.  Another  of  his  relatives,  of  the 
name  of  Gordon,  also  underwent  the  last  penalty  of  the  law, 
at  Glasgow,  where  an  acquaintance  of  mine  saw  him  hanged. 
Wilson  had  a  son  who  carried  a  box  of  jewelry  through  the 
country,  and  was  suspected  of  having  been  concerned  in 
robbing  a  bank,  at,  1  believe,  Dunkeld.  Some  of  the  des¬ 
cendants  of  this  Stirlingshire  tribe  still  roam  up  and  down 
the  kingdom,  nearly  in  the  old  Gipsy  manner ;  and  several 

*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  such  rencounters  between  these  pretty,  gent.eel- 
looldng  Gipsies  and  the  ordinary  natives.  The  denouement,  in  this  instance, 
might  have  been  a  marriage,  and  the  plantation  of  a  colony  of  Gipsies 
among  the  Braes  of  Kinross-shire.  The  same  might  have  happened  in  the 
case  of  the  other  lady  Wilson,  with  the  adjutant  at  Stirling,  or  with  one 
of  his  acquaintances. — Ed. 


164 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  them  have  their  residence,  when  not  on  the  tramp,  in  the 
town  of  Stirling. 

The  great  distinguishing  feature  in  the  character  of  the 
Gipsies  is  an  incurable  propensity  for  theft  and  robbery, 
and  taking  openly  and  forcibly  (sorning)  whatever  answers 
their  purpose.  A  Gipsy,’ of  about  twenty-one  years  of  age, 
stated  to  me  that  his  forefathers  considered  it  quite  lawful, 
among  themselves,  to  take  from  others,  not  of  their  own  fra¬ 
ternity,  any  article  they  stood  in  need  of.  Casting  his  eyes 
around  the  inside  of  my  house,  he  said  :  “  For  instance,  were 
they  to  enter  this  room,  they  would  carry  off  anything  that 
could  be  of  service  to  them,  such  as  clothes,  money,  victuals, 
Ac.  “  but,”  added  he,  “  all  this  proceeded  from  ignorance  ; 
they  are  now  quite  changed  in  their  manners.”  Another 
Gipsy,  a  man  of  about  sixty  years  of  age,  informed  me  that 
the  tribe  have  a  complete  and  thorough  hatred  of  the  whole 
community,  excepting  those  who  shelter  them,  or  treat  them 
with  kindness  ;  and  that  a  dexterous  theft  or  robbery,  com¬ 
mitted  on  any  of  the  natives  among  whom  they  travel,  is 
looked  upon  as  one  of  the  most  meritorious  actions  which  a 
Gipsy  can  possibly  perform. 

But  the  Gipsies  are  by  no  means  the  only  nation  in  the  world 
that  have  considered  theft  reputable.  In  Sparta,  under  the 
celebrated  law-giver  Lycurgus,  theft  was  also  reputable.  In 
Hugh  Murray’s  account  of  an  embassy  from  Portugal  to  the 
Emperor  of  Abyssinia,  in  1620,  we  find  the  following  curious 
passage  relative  to  thieves  in  that  part  of  the  world  :  “  As 
the  embassy  left  the  palace,  a  band  of  thieves  carried  off  a 
number  of  valuable  articles,  while  a  sei'vant  who  attempted 
to  defend  them  was  wounded  in  the  leg.  The  ambassadors, 
enquiring  the  mode  of  obtaining  redress  for  this  outrage, 
were  assured  that  these  thieves  formed  a  regular  part  of  the 
court  establishment,  and  that  officers  were  appointed  who 
levied  a  proportion  of  the  articles  stolen,  for  behoof  his  im¬ 
perial  majesty.”*  In  another  part  of  Africa,  there  is  a  horde 
of  Moors  who  go  by  the  name  of  the  tribe  of  thieves.  This 
wandering,  vagabond  horde  do  not  blush  at  adopting  this 
odious  denomination.  Their  chief  is  called  chief  of  the 
tribe  of  thieves.f  In  Hugh  Murray’s  Asia,  we  have  the  fol¬ 
lowing  passage  relative  to  the  professed  thieves  in  India. 

*  Yol.  ii.,  page  17. 

Golbery’s  Travels,  translated  by  Francis  Blagden.  Vol.  L,  page  158. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


165 


“Nothing  tends  more  to  call  in  question  the  mildness  of 
the  Hindoo  disposition  than  the  vast  scale  of  the  practice 
of  decoity.  This  term,  though  essentially  synonymous  with 
robbery,  suggests,  however,  very  different  ideas.  With  us, 
robbers  are  daring  and  desperate  outlaws,  who  hide  them¬ 
selves  in  the  obscure  corners  of  great  cities,  shunned  and 
detested  by  all  society.  In  India,  they  are  regular  and 
reputable  persons,  who  have  not  only  houses  and  families, 
but  often  landed  property,  and  have  much  influence  in  the 
villages  where  they  reside.  This  profession,  like  all  others, 
is  hereditary  ;  and  a  father  has  been  heard,  from  the  gallows, 
carefully  admonishing  his  son  not  to  be  deterred,  by  his  fate, 
from  following  the  calling  of  his  ancestors.  They  are  very 
devout,  and  have  placed  themselves  under  the  patronage  of 
the  goddess  Kali,  revered  in  Bengal  above  all  other  deities, 
and  who  is  supposed  to  look  with  peculiar  favour  on  achiev- 
ments  such  as  theirs.  They  are  even  recognized  by  the  old 
Hindoo  laws,  which  contain  enactments  for  the  protection 
of  stolen  goods,  upon  a  due  share  being  given  to  the  magis¬ 
trate.  They  seldom,  however,  commit  depredations  in  their 
own  village,  or  even  in  that  immediately  adjoining,  but  seek 
a  distant  one,  where  they  have  no  tie  to  the  inhabitants. 
They  are  formed  into  bands,  with  military  organization,  so 
that  when  a  chief  dies,  there  is  always  another  ready  to  suc¬ 
ceed  him.  They  calculate  that  they  have  ten  chances  to  one 
of  never  being  brought  to  justice.” 

The  old  Hindoo  law  alluded  to  in  the  above  passage  is,  I 
presume,  the  following  enactment  in  the  Gentoo  Code,  trans¬ 
lated  by  Nathaniel  Brassey  Halhed,  page  146  :  “  The  mode 
of  shares  among  robbers  is  this  :  If  any  thieves,  by  the  com¬ 
mand  of  the  magistrate,  and  with  his  assistance,  have  com¬ 
mitted  depredations  upon,  and  brought  any  Booty  from,  an¬ 
other  province,  the  magistrate  shall  receive  a  share  of 
one-sixth  of  the  whole ;  if  they  receive  no  command  or 
assistance  from  the  magistrate,  they  shall  give  the  magis¬ 
trate,  in  that  case,  one-tenth  of  his  share  ;  and  of  the 
remainder,  their  chief  shall  receive  four  shares  :  and  whoso¬ 
ever  among  them  is  perfect  master  of  his  occupation,  shall 
receive  three  shares  ;  also  whichever  of  them  is  remarkably 
strong  and  stout,  shall  receive  two  shares  ;  and  the  rest  shall 
receive  each  one  share.  If  any  one  of  the  community  of 
thieves  happens  to  be  taken,  and  should  be  released  from 


166 


A  ms  TOBY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  Cutchery,  (com’t  of  justice),  upon  payment  of  a  sum  of 
money,  all  the  thieves  shall  make  good  that  sum  by  equal 
shares.” — “  In  the  Gentoo  code  containing  this  law,  there 
are  many  severe  enactments  against  theft  and  robbery  of 
every  description  ;  but  these  laws  refer  to  domestic  disturbers 
of  their  own  countrymen,  or  violators  of  the  first  principles 
of  society.  The  law  which  regulates  these  shares  of  robbers, 
refers  only  to  such  bold  and  hardy  adventurers  as  sally  forth 
to  levy  contributions  in  a  foreign  province.” 

Now  our  Gipsies  are,  in  one  point,  exactly  on  a  level  with 
the  adventurers  here  mentioned.  They  look  upon  themselves 
as  being  in  a  foreign  land,  and  consider  it  fair  game  to  rob, 
plunder,  and  cheat  all  and  every  one  of  the  “  strangers” 
among  whom  they  travel.  I  am  disposed  to  believe  that 
there  were  also  rules  among  the  Gipsy  bands  for  dividing 
their  booty,  something  like  the  old  Hindoo  law  alluded  to.* 
We  find  the  following  curious  particulars  mentioned  of  a 
tribe  among  the  mountains  in  India,  who  are  supposed  to  be 
the  aborigines  of  Hindostan.  They  are  called  Koobies  or 
Lunctas.  “  Next  to  personal  valour,  the  accomplishment 
most  esteemed  in  a  warrior  is  superior  address  in  stealing  ; 
and  if  a  thief  can  convey,  undiscovered,  to  his  own  house, 
his  neighbour’s  property,  it  cannot  afterwards  be  reclaimed  ; 
nor,  if  detected  in  the  act,  is  he  otherwise  punished  than  by 
exposure  to  the  ridicule  of  the  Porah,  and  being  obliged  to 
restore  what  he  may  have  laid  hold  of.”  “  It  is  a  great 
recommendation  in  obtaining  a  wife,  when  a  Kookie  can 
say  that  his  house  is  full  of  stolen  articles. ”f  There  are 
several  other  tribes  in  the  world  among  whom  theft  and  rob¬ 
bery  are  considered  meritorious  actions.  It  appears  that 
among  the  Coords  “  no  one  is  allowed  to  marry  a  wife  till 
he  has  committed  some  great  act  of  robbery  or  murder.”  In 
an  account  of  Kamtschatka,  it  is  mentioned  that  “  among  all 
these  barbarous  nations,  excepting  the  Kamtschadales,  theft 

*  What  is  said  here  is,  of  course,  applicable  to  a  class,  only,  of  the  Gipsies. 
Our  author  need  not  have  gone  so  very  far  away  from  home,  for  instances 
of  theft  and  robbery  being,  under  certain  circumstances,  deemed  honour¬ 
able.  Both  were,  at  one  time,  followed  in  Scotland,  when  all  practised 

“The  good  old  rule,  the  simple  plan. 

That  they  should  take  who  have  the  power, 

And  they  should  keep  who  can.” 

See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. — Ed. 

f  Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  vii.,  pages  189  and  193. 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


167 


is  reputable,  provided  they  do  not  steal  in  their  own  tribe, 
or  if  done  with  such  art  as  to  prevent  discovery  :  on  the 
other  hand,  it  is  punished  very  severely  if  discovered  ;  not 
for  the  theft,  but  for  the  want  of  address  in  the  art  of  steal¬ 
ing.  A  Tschukotskoe  girl  cannot  be  married  before  she  has 
shown  her  dexterity  in  this  way.”* 

Halhed,  in  apologizing  for  the  Hindoo  magistrate  partici¬ 
pating  in  the  plunder  of  banditti,  which  applies  equally  well 
to  the  Gipsies,  remarks  that,  “  unjust  as  this  behaviour  may 
appear  in  the  eye  of  equity,  it  bears  the  most  genuine  stamp 
of  antiquity,  and  corresponds  entirely  with  the  manners  of 
the  early  Grecians,  at  or  before  the  period  of  the  Trojan 
war,  and  of  the  western  nations  before  their  emersion  from 
barbarism ;  a  practice  still  kept  up  among  the  piratic  States 
of  Barbary,  to  its  fullest  extent  by  sea,  and  probably  among 
many  hordes  of  Tartars  and  Arabian  banditti  by  land.”  It 
is  proper  to  mention  that  the  Gipsies  seldom  or  never  steal 
from  one  another  ;  at  least,  1  never  could  find  out  an  instance 
of  a  theft  having  been  committed  by  a  Gipsy  on  one  of  his 
own  tribe. 

It  will  be  seen,  from  the  following  details,  that  the  san¬ 
guinary  lawrs  which  have  been,  from  time  to  time,  promul¬ 
gated  all  over  Europe  against  the  Gipsies,  were  not  enacted 
to  put  dowrn  fanciful  crimes,  as  an  author  of  the  present  day 
seems,  in  his  travels,  to  insinuate.  To  plunder  the  com¬ 
munity  with  more  safety  to  their  persons,  the  Gipsies  appear 
to  have  had  a  system  of  theft  peculiar  to  themselves.  Those 
of  Lochgellie  trained  all  their  children  to  theft.  Indeed, 
this  has  been  the  general  practice  with  the  tribe  all  over 
Scotland.  Several  individuals  have  mentioned  to  me  that 
the  Lochgellie  band  were  exercised  in  the  art  of  thieving 
under  the  most  rigid  discipline.  They  had  various  ways  of 
making  themselves  expert  thieves.  They  frequently  prac¬ 
tised  themselves  by  {ticking  the  pockets  of  each  other. 
Sometimes  a  pair  of  breeches  were  made  fast  to  the  end  of 
a  string,  suspended  from  a  high  part  of  the  tent,  kiln,  or 
outhouse  in  which  they  happened  to  be  encamped.  The 
children  were  set  at  work  to  try  it  they  could,  by  sleight  of 
hand,  abstract  money  from  the  pockets  of  the  breeches  hang¬ 
ing  in  this  position,  without  moving  them.  Sometimes  they 

*  Dr.  James  Grieve  s  translation  of  a  Russian  account  of  Kamtschatl  a. 


106 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


used  bells  in  this  discipline.  The  children  who  were  most 
expert  in  abstracting  the  money  in  this  manner,  were  rewarded 
with  applause  and  presents  ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  those 
who  proved  awkward,  by  ringing  the  bell,  or  moving  the 
breeches,  were  severely  chastised.  After  the  youths  were 
considered  perfect  in  tin's  branch  of  their  profession,  a  purse, 
or  other  small  object,  was  laid  down  in  an  exposed  part  of 
the  tent  or  camp,  in  view  of  all  the  family.  While  the 
ordinary  business  of  the  Gipsies  was  going  forward,  the 
children  again  commenced  their  operations,  by  exerting  their 
ingenuity  and  exercising  their  patience,  in  trying  to  carry 
off  the  purse  without  being  perceived  by  any  one  present. 
If  they  were  detected,  they  were  again  beaten  ;  but  if  they 
succeeded  unnoticed,  they  were  caressed  and  liberally  re¬ 
warded.  As  far  as  my  information  goes,  this  systematic 
training  of  the  Gipsy  youth  was  performed  by  the  chief 
female  of  the  bands.  These  women  seem  to  have  had  great 
authority  over  their  children.  Ann  Brown,  of  the  Loch- 
gellie  tribe,  could,  by  a  single  stamp  of  her  foot,  cause  the 
children  to  crouch  to  the  ground,  like  trembling  dogs  under 
the  lash  of  an  angry  master.  The  Gipsies,  from  these  con¬ 
stant  trainings,  became  exceedingly  dexterous  at  picking 
pockets.  The  following  instance  of  their  extraordinary  ad¬ 
dress  in  these  practices,  will  show  the  effects  of  their  careful 
training,  as  well  as  exhibit  the  natural  ingenuity  which  they 
will  display  in  compassing  their  ends. 

A  principal  male  Gipsy,  of  a  very  respectable  appearance, 
whose  name  it  is  unnecessary  to  mention,  happened,  on  a 
market  day,  to  be  drinking  in  a  public-house,  with  several 
farmers  with  whom  he  was  well  acquainted.  The  party 
observed,  from  the  window,  a  countryman  purchase  some¬ 
thing  at  a  stand  in  the  market,  and,  after  paying  for  it,  thrust 
his  purse  into  his  watch-pocket,  in  the  band  of  his  breeches. 
One  of  the  company  remarked  that  it  would  be  a  very  diffi¬ 
cult  matter  to  rob  the  cautious  man  of  his  purse,  without 
being  detected.  The  Gipsy  immediately  offered  to  bet  two 
bottles  of  wine  that  he  would  rob  the  man  of  his  purse,  in 
the  open  and  public  market,  without  being  perceived  by  him. 
The  bet  was  taken,  and  the  Gipsy  proceeded  about  the  diffi¬ 
cult  and  delicate  business.  Going  up  to  the  unsuspecting 
man,  he  requested,  as  a  particular  favour,  if  he  would  ease 
the  stock  about  his  neck,  which  buckled  behind — an  article 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


1G9 


of  dress  at  that  time  in  fashion.  The  countryman  most 
readily  agreed  to  oblige  the  stranger  gentleman — as  he  sup¬ 
posed  him  to  be.  The  Gipsy,  now  stooping  down,  to  allow 
his  stock  to  be  adjusted,  placed  his  head  against  the  country¬ 
man’s  stomach,  and,  pressing  it  forward  a  little,  he  reached 
down  one  hand,  under  the  pretence  of  adjusting  his  shoe, 
while  the  other  was  employed  in  extracting  the  farmer’s 
purse.  The  purse  was  immediately  brought  into  the  com¬ 
pany,  and  the  cautious,  unsuspecting  countryman  did  not 
know  of  his  loss,  till  he  was  sent  for,  and  had  his  property 
returned  to  him. 

The  Gipsy  youth,  trained  from  infancy  to  plunder,  in  the 
manner  described,  were  formed  into  companies  or  bands, 
with  a  captain  at  their  head.  These  captains  were  generally 
the  grown-up  sons  of  the  old  chieftains,  who,  having  been 
themselves  leaders  in  their  youth,  endeavoured,  in  their  old 
age,  to  support,  outwardly,  a  pretty  fair  character,  although 
under  considerable  suspicion.  The  captains  were  generally 
well  dressed,  and  could  not  be  taken  for  Gipsies.  The 
youths  varied  in  age  from  ten  to  thirty  years.  They  travel¬ 
led  to  fairs  singly,  or  at  least  never  above  two  together, 
while  their  captains  almost  always  rode  on  horse-back,  but 
never  in  company  with  any  of  their  men.*  The  band  con¬ 
sisted  of  a  great  number  of  individuals,  and  in  a  fair  several 
of  these  companies  would  be  present ;  each  company  acting 
independent  of  the  others,  for  behoof  of  its  own  members 
and  chief.  Each  chief,  on  such  occasions,  had  his  own  head¬ 
quarters,  to  which  his  men  repaired  with  their  booty,  as  fast 
as  they  obtained  it.  Some  of  the  chiefs,  handsomely  dressed, 
pretended  to  be  busily  employed  in  buying  and  selling  horses, 
but  were  always  ready  to  attend  to  the  operations  of  their 

*_An  old  Gipsy  told  me  that  lie  had  seen  one  of  the  principal  chiefs, 
dressed  like  a  gentleman,  travelling  in  a  post-chaise,  for  the  purpose  of 
attending  fairs. 

[Vidocq,  of  the  French  secret  police,  thus  writes  of  the  Hungarian  Gip¬ 
sies,  visiting  the  west  of  Europe  :  Raising  my  eyes  towards  a  crowd  in  front 
of  a  menagerie,  I  perceived  one  of  the  false  jockeys  taking  the  purse  of  a  fat 
glazier,  whom  we  saw  the  next  moment  seeking  for  it  in  his  pocket ;  the 
Bohemian  then  entered  a  jeweller’s  shop,  where  were  already-  two  of  the  pre¬ 
tended  Zealand  peasants ,  and  my-  companion  assured  me  that  he  would  not 
come  out  until  he  had  pilfered  some  of  the  jewels  that  were  shown  to  him. 
In  every  part  of  the  fair  where  there  was  a  crowd,  I  met  some  of  the 
lodgers  of  the  Ituehess,  (i  he  inn  kept  by  a  Gipsy  woman  in  which  he  had 
spent  the  previous  night.) — Ed.] 

8 


170 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


tribe,  employed  in  plundering  in  the  market.  The  purses 
were  brought  to  the  horse-dealer  by  the  members  of  his  band, 
who,  to  prevent  being  discovered,  pretended  to  be  buying 
horses  from  him,  while  communicating  with  him  relative  to 
their  peculiar  vocation.  When  a  detection  was  likely  to 
take  place,  the  chief  mounted  a  good  horse,  and  rode  off  to 
a  distant  part  of  the  country,  previously  made  known  to  his 
men,  with  the  whole  of  the  booty  in  his  custody.  To  this 
place  the  band,  when  all  was  quiet,  repaired,  and  received 
their  share  of  the  plunder.  They  could  communicate  infor¬ 
mation  to  one  another  by  signs,  to  say  nothing  of  their  lan¬ 
guage,  which  frequently  enabled  them  to  get  the  start  of 
their  pursuers.  Like  the  fox,  the  dog,  and  the  corbie,  they 
frequently  concealed  their  stolen  articles  in  the  earth.  Par¬ 
ties  of  them  would  frequently  commence  sham  fights  in  mar¬ 
kets,  to  facilitate  the  picking  of  the  pockets  of  the  people, 
while  crowded  together  to  witness  the  scuffles. 

Many  of  the  male  Gipsies  used  a  piece  of  strong  leather, 
like  a  sailmaker’s  palm,  having  a  short  piece  of  sharp  steel, 
like  the  point  of  a  surgeon’s  lancet,  where  the  sailmaker  has 
his  thimble.  The  long  sleeves  of  their  coats  concealed  the 
instrument,  and  when  they  wished  to  cut  a  purse  out  of  an 
arm-pocket,  they  stretched  out  the  arm,  and  ran  it  flatly  and 
gently  along  the  cloth  of  the  coat,  opposite  the  pocket  of  the 
individual  they  wished  to  plunder.  The  female  Gipsies 
wore,  upon  their  forefingers,  rings  of  a  peculiar  construction, 
yet  nothing  unusual  in  their  appearance,  excepting  their 
very  large  size.  On  closing  the  hand,  the  pressure  upon  a 
spring  sent  forth,  through  an  aperture  or  slit  in  the  ring,  a 
piece  of  sharp  steel,  something  like  the  manner  in  which  a 
bee  thrusts  out  and  withdraws  its  sting.  With  these  inge¬ 
nious  instruments  the  female  Gipsies  cut  the  outside  of  the 
pockets  of  their  victims,  exactly  as  a  glazier  runs  his  dia¬ 
mond  over  a  sheet  of  glass.  The  opening  once  made  by  the 
back  of  the  forefinger,  the  hand,  following,  was  easily  intro¬ 
duced  into  the  pocket.  In  the  midst  of  a  crowded  fair,  the 
dexterous  Gipsies,  with  their  nimble  fingers,  armed  with 
these  invisible  instruments,  cut  the  pocket-books  and  purses 
of  the  honest  farmers,  as  if  they  had  been  robbed  by  magic. 
So  skillful  were  the  wife  and  one  of  the  sisters  of  Charles 
Wilson,  in  the  art  of  thieving,  that  although  the  loss  of  the 
pocket-book  was,  in  some  instances,  immediately  discovered, 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


171 


nothing  was  ever  found  upon  their  persons  by  which  their  guilt 
could  be  established.  No  instrument  appeared  in  their  posses¬ 
sion  with  which  the  clothes  of  the  plundered  individuals  could 
have  been  cut,  as  no  one  dreamt  that  the  rings  on  their  fin¬ 
gers  contained  tools  so  admirably  adapted  for  such  purposes. 

The  Gipsy  chiefs  in  Scotland  appear,  at  one  time,  to  have 
received  a  share  of  the  plundered  articles  in  the  same  man¬ 
ner  as  those  of  the  same  rank  received  from  their  inferiors 
in  Hungary.  Grellmann  says  :  “  Whenever  a  complaint  is 
made  that  any  of  their  people  have  been  guilty  of  theft,  the 
Waywode  (chief)  not  only  orders  a  general  search  to  be 
made  in  every  tent  or  hut,  and  returns  the  stolen  goods  to 
the  owner,  if  they  can  be  foifnd  ;  but  he  punishes  the  thief, 
in  presence  of  the  complainant,  with  his  whip.  He  does  not, 
however,  punish  the  aggressor  from  any  regard  to  justice, 
but  rather  to  quiet  the  plaintiff,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
make  his  people  more  wary  in  their  thefts,  as  well  as  more 
dexterous  in  concealing  their  prey.  These  very  materially 
concern  him,  since,  by  every  discovery  that  is  made,  his  in¬ 
come  suffers,  as  the  whole  profit  of  his  office  arises  from  his 
share  of  the  articles  that  are  stolen.  Every  time  any  one 
brings  in  a  booty,  lie  is  obliged  to  give  information  to  the 
Arch-gipsy  of  his  successful  enterprise,  then  render  a  just  ac¬ 
count  of  what  and  how  much  he  has  stolen,  in  order  that  the 
proper  division  may  be  made.  This  is  the  situation  in  which 
a  Gipsy  looks  on  himself  as  bound  to  give  a  fair  and  true 
detail,  though,  in  every  other  instance,  he  does  not  hesitate 
to  perjure  himself.” 

A  shrewd  and  active  magistrate,  in  the  west  of  Fife,  knew 
our  Scottish  Gipsy  depredators  so  well,  that  he  caused  them 
all  to  be  apprehended  as  they  entered  the  fairs  held  in  the 
town  in  which  lie  resided  ;  and  when  the  market,  which  lasted 
for  several  days,  was  over,  the  Gipsies  were  released  from 
prison,  with  empty  pockets  and  hungry  bellies --most  effec¬ 
tually  baffled  in  their  designs. 

Great  numbers  of  these  Gipsy  plunderers,  at  one  time, 
crossed  the  Forth  at  the  Queensferry,  for  the  purpose  of 
stealing  and  robbing  at  the  fairs  in  the  north  of  Scotland. 
They  all  travelled  singly  or  in  pairs.  Very  few  persons 
knew  whence  they  came,  or  with  whom  they  were  connected. 
They  were,  in  general,  well  dx’essed,  and  could  not  have  been 
taken  for  Gipsier.  Every  one  put  up  at  a  public-house,  at 


172 


A  ETS TOBY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


North  Queensferry,  kept  by  a  Mr.  McRitchie,  already  men¬ 
tioned,  an  inn  well  known  in  the  neighbourhood  for  its  good 
fare,  and  much  frequented  by  all  classes  of  society.  In  this 
house,  on  the  morning  after  a  fair  in  Dunfermline,  when  their 
business  was  all  over,  and  themselves  not  alarmed  by  detec¬ 
tion,  or  other  scaring  incidents,  no  fewer  than  fourteen  of 
these  plunderers  have  frequently  been  seen  sitting  at  break¬ 
fast,  with  Captain  Gordon,  their  commander,  at  their  head. 
The  landlord’s  son  informed  me  that  they  ate  and  drank  of 
the  best  in  the  house,  and  paid  most  handsomely  for  every¬ 
thing  they  called  for.  I  believe  they  were  among  the  best 
customers  the  landlord  had.  Gipsies,  however,  are  by  no 
means  habitual  drinkers,  or  tiplers  ;  but  when  they  do  sit 
down,  it  is,  in  the  phraseology  of  the  sea,  a  complete  blow¬ 
out.  About  this  public-house,  these  Gipsies  were  perfectly 
inoffensive,  and  remarkably  civil  to  all  connected  with  it. 
They  troubled  or  stole  from  none  of  the  people  about  the  inn, 
nor  from  those  who  lodged  in  the  house,  while  they  were 
within  doors,  or  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood.  Anything 
could  have  been  trusted  with  them  on  these  occasions.  At 
these  meetings,  the  landlord’s  son  frequently  heard  them 
talking  in  the  Gipsy  language.  Gordon,  at  times,  paid  the 
reckoning  for  the  whole,  and  transacted  any  other  business 
with  the  landlord  ;  but,  when  the  Gipsy  company  was  inter¬ 
mixed  with  females,  which  was  commonly  the  case,  each 
individual  paid  his  own  share  of  the  bill  incurred.  It 
was  sometimes  the  practice  with  the  young  bands  to  leave 
their  reckoning  to  be  paid  by  their  chiefs,  who  were  not  pre¬ 
sent,  but  who,  perhaps  next  day,  came  riding  up,  and  paid 
the  expenses  incurred  by  their  men.  I  am  informed  that 
two  chiefs,  of  the  names  of  Wilson  and  Brown,  often  paid  the 
expenses  of  their  bands  in  this  way.  When  any  of  these 
principal  Gipsies  happened  to  remain  in  the  public-house  all 
night,  they  behaved  very  genteelly.  They  paid  the  chamber¬ 
maid,  boots,  and  waiter  with  more  liberality  than  was  the 
custom  with  mercantile  travellers  generally.  Captain  Gor¬ 
don,  just  mentioned,  assumed  very  considerable  consequence 
at  this  place.  Frequently  he  hired  boats  and  visited  the 
islands  in  the  Forth,  and  adjacent  coasts,  like  a  gentleman 
of  pleasure.  On  one  occasion  he  paid  no  less  than  a  guinea, 
with  brandy  and  eatables  ad  libitum,  to  be  rowed  over  to 
Inch-colm,  a  distance  of  four  miles. 

(140) 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


173 


The  female  Gipsies  from  the  south,  on  visiting  their  friends 
at  Lochgellie,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  often  hired  horses  at 
the  North  Queensferry,  and  rode,  with  no  small  pomp  and 
pride,  to  the  village.  Sometimes  two  females  would  ride 
upon  one  horse.  A  very  decent  old  man,  of  the  name  of 
Thomas  Chalmers,  a  small  farmer,  informed  me  that  he  him¬ 
self  had  rode  to  Lochgellie,  with  a  female  Gipsy  behind  him, 
accompanied  by  other  two,  mounted  on  another  of  his  horses, 
riding  with  much  spirit  and  glee  by  his  side.  Chalmers 
said  that  these  women  not  only  paid  more  than  the  common 
hire,  but  treated  the  owners  of  the  horses  with  as  much  meat 
and  drink  as  they  could  take.  The  male  Gipsies  also  hired 
horses  at  this  Ferry,  with  which  they  rode  to  markets  in  the 
north. 

The  young  Gipsies,  male  and  female,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  appear  to  have  been  the  flower  of  the  different  bands, 
collected  and  employed  in  a  general  plundering  at  the  fairs 
in  the  north.  So  well  did  they  pay  their  way  at  the  village 
and  passage  alluded  to,  that  the  boatmen  gave  them  the 
kindly  name  of  “  our  frien’s.”  These  wanderers  were  all 
known  at  the  village  by  the  name  of  “  Gillie  Wheesels,”  or 
“  Killie  Wheesh,”  which,  in  the  west  of  Fife,  signified  “  the 
lads  that  take  the  purses.”  Old  Thomas  Chalmers  informed 
me  that  he  had  frequently  seen  these  sharks  of  boatmen 
shake  these  Gipsy  thieves  heartily  by  the  hand,  and,  with  a 
significant  smile  on  their  harsh,  weather-beaten  countenances, 
wish  them  a  good  market,  as  they  landed  them  on  the  north 
side  of  the  Forth,  on  their  way  to  picking  pockets  at  fairs. 

As  an  incident  in  the  lives  of  these  Gipsies,  I  will  give 
the  following,  which  was  witnessed  by  Chalmers :  A  Gillie 
of  a  Gipsy  horse-couper  stole  a  black  colt,  in  the  east  of 
Fife,  and  carried  it  direct  to  a  fair  in  Perth,  where  he  ex¬ 
changed  it  for  a  white  horse,  belonging  to  a  Highlander 
wearing  a  green  kilt.  The  Highlander,  however,  had  not 
long  put  the  colt  into  the  stable,  before  word  was  brought  to 
him  that  it  was  gone.  Suspecting  the  Gipsy  of  the  theft, 
the  sturdy  Gael  proceeded  in  search  of  him,  and  receiving 
positive  information  of  the  fact,  he  pursued  him,  like  a 
staunch  hound  on  the  warm  foot  of  reynard,  till  he  overtook 
him  in  a  house  on  the  north  side  of  Kinross.  The  Gipsy 
was  taking  some  refreshment  in  the  same  room  with  Chal¬ 
mers,  when  the  Highlander,  in  a  storm  of  broken  English, 


174 


4  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


burst  into  their  presence.  The  astute  and  polished  Gipsy 
instantly  sprang  to  his  feet,  and,  throwing  his  arms  around 
the  foaming  Celt,  embraced  and  hugged  him  in  the  eastern 
manner,  overpowering  him  with  expressions  of  joy  at  seeing 
him  again.  This  quite  exasperated  the  mountaineer :  al¬ 
most  suffocated  with  rage,  he  shook  the  Gipsy  from  his  per¬ 
son,  with  the  utmost  disdain,  and  demanded  the  colt  lie  had 
stolen  from  him.  Notwithstanding  the  deceitful  embraces 
and  forced  entreaties  of  the  Gipsy,  lie  was,  with  the  assist¬ 
ance  of  a  messenger,  at  the  back  of  the  Highlander,  safely 
lodged  in  the  jail  of  Cupar. 

Considering  the  great  aptitude  which  the  Gipsies  have 
always  shown  for  working  in  metals,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
they  should  have  resorted  to  coining,  among  their  many  ex¬ 
pedients  for  circumventing  and  plundering  the  “strangers” 
among  whom  they  sojourn.  The  following  instance  will 
illustrate  the  singular  audacity  which  they  can  display  in 
this  branch  of  their  profession  :  As  an  honest  countryman, 

of  much  simplicity  of  character,  of  the  name  of  W - 0 - , 

was  journeying  along  the  public  road,  a  travelling  Tinkler, 
whom  he  did  not  know,  chanced  to  come  up  to  him.  After 
walking  and  conversing  for  some  time,  the  courteous  Gipsy, 
on  arriving  at  a  public-house,  invited  him  to  step  in,  and 
have  a  “  tasting.”  They  accordingly  entered  the  house,  and 
had  no  sooner  finished  one  half  mutcliken,  than  the  liberal 
wanderer  called  for  another  ;  but  when  the  reckoning  came 
to  be  thought  of,  the  countryman  was  surprised  when  his 
friend  the  Tinkler  declared  that  he  had  not  a  coin  in  his 
possession.  Unfortunately,  the  honest  man  happened  also  to 
be  without  a  farthing  in  his  pocket,  and  how  they  were  to 
get  out  of  the  house,  without  paying  the  landlord,  whom 
neither  of  them  knew,  puzzled  him  not  a  little.  While 
meditating  over  their  dilemma,  the  Gipsy,  with  his  eyes 
rolling  about  in  every  direction,  as  is  their  wont,  espied  a 
pewter  basin  under  a  bed  in  the  room.  This  was  all  he  re¬ 
quired.  Bolting  the  door  of  the  apartment,  he  opened  his 
budget,  and,  taking  out  a  pair  of  large  shears,  cut  a  piece 
from  the  side  of  the  basin,  and,  putting  it  into  his  crucible 
on  the  fire,  in  no  time,  with  his  coining  instruments,  threw 
off  several  half-crowns,  resembling  good,  sterling  money.  If 
the  simple  countryman  was  troubled  at  not  being  able  to 
pay  his  reckoning,  he  was  now  terrified  at  being  locked  up 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


175 


with  a  man  busily  engaged  in  coining  base  money  from  an 
article  stolen  in  the  very  apartment  in  which  he  was  con¬ 
fined.  He  expected,  every  moment,  some  one  to  burst  the 
door  open,  and  apprehend  them,  while  the  Tinkler  had  all 
his  coining  apparatus  about  him.  His  companion,  however, 
was  not  in  the  least  disturbed,  but  deliberately  finished  his 
coin  in  a  superior  manner,  and  cutting  the  remainder  of  the 
basin  into  pieces,  packed  it  into  his  wallet.  Unlocking  the 
door,  he  rang  the  bell,  and  tendered  one  of  his  half-crowns 
to  his  host,  to  pay  his  score,  which  was  accepted  without  a 
suspicion.  The  Tinkler  then  offered  his  fellow-traveller  part 
of  his  remaining  coin  ;  but  the  unsophisticated  man,  far 
from  touching  one  of  them,  was  only  too  glad  to  rid  himself 
of  so  dangerous  an  acquaintance.  The  Gipsy,  on  his  part, 
marched  off,  with  his  spirits  elevated  with  liquoi-,  and  his 
pockets  replenished  with  money,  smiLing  at  the  simplicity 
and  terror  of  the  countryman. 

However  numerous  the  crimes  which  the  Gipsies  have 
committed,  or  the  murders  they  have  perpetrated  in  then- 
own  tribe,  yet,  in  justice  to  them,  I  must  say  that  only  two 
instances  have  come  to  my  knowledge  of  their  having  put  to 
death  natives  of  Scotland  who  were  not  of  their  own  frater¬ 
nity.  One  of  these  instances  was  that  of  a  man  of  the  name 
of  Adam  Thomson,  whom  they  murdered  because  he  had  en¬ 
croached,  it  was  said,  upon  one  of  their  supposed  privileges 
— that  of  gathering  rags  through  the  country.  Amongst 
other  ticts  of  cruelty,  they  placed  the  poor  man  on  a  fire,  in 
his  own  house.  Two  Gipsies  were  tried  for  the  murder,  but 
whether  they  were  both  executed,  I  do  not  know.  The  fol¬ 
lowing  particulars  connected  with  this  deed  will  show 
how  exactly  the  Gipsies  know  the  different  routes  and  halt¬ 
ing-places  of  each  band,  as  they  travel  through  the  country. 
Indeed,  I  have  been  informed  that  the  track  which  each 
horde  is  to  take,  the  different  stages,  and  the  number  of 
days  they  are  to  remain  at  each  place,  are  all  marked  out 
and  fixed  upon  in  the  spring,  before  they  leave  their  winter 
residence.  One  of  the  Gipsies  concerned  in  the  murder  of 
Thomson  lay  in  prison,  in  one  of  the  towns  in  the  south  of 
Scotland,  for  nearly  twelve  months,  without  having  had  any 
communication  with  his  tribe.  There  was  not  sufficient  evi¬ 
dence  against  him  to  justify  his  being  brought  to  trial ;  nor 
would  he  give  any  information  regarding  the  transaction. 


176 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


At  last  lie  changed  his  mind,  and  told  the  authorities  they 
would  find  the  murderer  at  a  certain  spot  in  the  Highlands, 
on  a  certain  day  and  hour  of  that  day  ;  but  if  he  could  not 
be  found  there,  they  were  to  proceed  .to  another  place,  at 
twenty  miles’  distance,  where  they  would  be  sure  to  find 
him. 

The  murderer  was  found  at  the  place,  and  on  the  day, 
mentioned  by  the  Gipsy.  But,  on  entering  the  house,  the 
constables  could  not  discover  him,  although  they  knew  he 
had  been  within  its  walls  a  few  minutes  before  they  ap¬ 
proached  it.  A  fire  having  been  kindled  in  the  house,  a 
noise  was  heard  in  the  chimney,  which  attracted  the  notice 
of  the  constables  ;  and,  on  examination,  they  found  the  ob¬ 
ject  of  their  search  ;  the  heat  and  smoke  having  caused  him 
to  become  restless  in  his  place  of  concealment.  He  was  se¬ 
cured,  and  some  of  the  country-people  were  called  upon  to 
assist  in  carrying  him  to  Edinburgh.  The  prisoner  was  bound 
into  a  cart  with  ropes,  to  prevent  him  making  his  escape  ; 
the  party  in  charge  of  him  being  aware  of  the  desperate 
character  of  the  man.  Nothing  particular  occurred  on  the 
road,  until  after  they  had  passed  the  town  of  Linlithgow, 
when,  to  their  astonishment,  they  found  a  woman  in  the  pangs 
of  labour,  in  the  open  field.  She  called  upon  them  either  to 
bring  her  a  midwife,  or  take  her  to  one  ;  a  claim  that  could 
not  be  resisted.  She  was  accordingly  put  into  the  cart,  be¬ 
side  the  prisoner,  and  driven  with  all  speed  to  a  place  where 
a  midwife  could  be  procured.  On  arriving  opposite  a  dell, 
full  of  trees  and  bushes,  about  the  west-end  of  Kirkliston, 
the  guards  were  confounded  at  seeing  their  prisoner,  all  at 
once,  spring  out  of  the  cart,  and,  darting  into  the  cover, 
vanish  in  an  instant.  Pursuit  was  immediately  given,  and, 
in  the  excitement,  the  unfortunate  woman  was  left  to  her 
fate.  In  searching  for  the  Gipsy,  they  met  a  gentleman 
shooting  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  had  observed  a  man  hide 
himself  among  the  bushes.  On  going  to  the  spot,  they  found 
the  criminal,  lying  like  a  fox  in  his  hole.  The  sportsman, 
presenting  his  gun,  threatened  to  blow  out  his  brains,  if  he 
did  not  come  out,  and  deliver  himself  up  to  the  constables. 
On  returning  with  him  to  the  cart,  his  captors,  to  their  as¬ 
tonishment,  found  that  the  woman  in  labour  had  also  van¬ 
ished.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  she  was  a  Gipsy,  who  had 
feigned  being  in  travail,  and,  while  in  the  cart,  had  cut  the 


FIFE  AND  STIFLING SUIEE  GIPSIES. 


177 


ropes  with  which  the  prisoner  was  bound,  to  enable  him  to 
make  his  escape. 

The  female  Gipsies  have  had  recourse  to  many  expedients 
in  their  impositions  on  the  public.  The  following  is  an  in¬ 
stance,  of  a  singular  nature,  that  took  place  a  good  many 
years  ago.  When  it  is  considered  that  the  Gipsies,  in  their 
native  country*  would  not  be  encumbered  with  much  wear¬ 
ing-apparel,  but  would  go  about  in  a  state  little  short  of 
nudity,  the  extreme  indecency  of  such  an  action  will  appear 
somewhat  lessened.  The  inhabitants  of  Winchburgh  and. 
neighbourhood  were  one  day  greatly  astonished  at  behold¬ 
ing  a  female,  with  a  child  in  her  arms,  walking  along  the 
road,  as  naked  as  when  she  was  born.  She  stated  to  the 
country-people  that  she  had  just  been  plundered,  and  strip¬ 
ped  of  every  article  of  her  wearing-apparel,  by  a  band  of 
Tinklers,  to  whom  she  pointed,  lying  in  a  field  hard  by.  She 
submitted  her  piteous  condition  to  the  humanity  of  the  inha¬ 
bitants,  and  craved  any  sort  of  garment  to  cover  her  naked¬ 
ness.  The  state  in  which  she  was  found  left  not  the  slightest 
doubt  on  the  minds  of  the  spectators  as  to  the  truth  of  her 
representations.  Almost  every  female  in  the  neighbourhood 
ran  with  some  description  of  clothing  to  the  unfortunate 
woman  ;  so  that,  in  a  short  time,  she  was  not  only  comfort¬ 
ably  clad,  but  had  many  articles  of  dress  to  spare.  Shortly 
after,  she  left  the  town,  and  proceeded  on  her  journey.  But 
some  one,  observing  her  motions  more  closely  than  the  rest, 
was  astonished  at  seeing  her  go  straight  to  the  very  Tinklers 
who,  she  said,  had  stripped  her.  Her  appearance  among 
her  band  convulsed  them  all  with  laughter,  at  the  dexterous 
trick  she  had  played  upon  the  simple  inhabitants. 

The  following  anecdote,  related  to  me  of  one  of  the  well- 
attired  female  Gipsies,  belonging  to  the  Stirling  horde,  will 
illustrate  the  gratitude  which  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have,  on 
all  occasions,  shown  to  those  who  have  rendered  them  acts 
of  kindness  and  attention  :  A  person,  belonging  to  Stirling, 
had  rendered  himself  obnoxious  to  the  Gipsies,  by  giving 
information  relative  to  one  of  the  gang,  of  the  name  of  Ham¬ 
ilton,  whom  he  had  observed  picking  a  man’s  pocket  of 
forty  pounds  in  a  fair  at  Doune.  Hamilton  was  apprehended 

*  It  is  pretty  certain  that  the  Gipsies  came  from  a  warm  country,  for 
they  have  no  words  for  frost  or  snow,  as  will  be  seen  in  my  enquiry  into 
the  history  of  their  language. 


178 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


immediately  after  committing  the  theft,  but  none  of  the 
money  was  found  upon  him.  The  informer,  however,  was 
marked  out  for  destruction  by  the  band,  for  his  officious  con¬ 
duct  ;  and  they  only  waited  a  convenient  opportunity  to 
put  their  resolution  into  execution.  Some  time  afterwards, 
the  proscribed  individual  had  occasion  to  go  to  a  market  at 
no  great  distance  from  Stirling,  and  while  on  his  way  to  it, 
he  observed,  on  the  road  before  him,  a  female,  in  the  attire 
of  a  lady,  riding  on  horseback.  On  coming  to  a  pond  at  the 
road-side,  the  horse  suddenly  made  for  the  water,  and  threw 
down  its  head  to  drink.  Not  being  prepared  for  the  move¬ 
ment,  the  rider  was  thrown  from  her  seat,  with  considerable 
violence,  to  the  ground.  The  proscribed  individual,  observ¬ 
ing  the  accident,  ran  forward  to  her  assistance  ;  but,  being 
only  slightly  stunned,  she  was,  with  his  help,  safely  placed 
in  her  seat  again.  She  now  thanked  him  for  his  kind  and 
timely  assistance,  and  informed  him  of  the  conspiracy  that 
had  been  formed  against  him.  She  said  it  was  particularly 
fortunate  for  him  that  such  an  accident  had  befallen  her 
under  the  circumstances  ;  for,  in  consequence  of  the  infor¬ 
mation  he  had  given  about  the  pocket-picking  at  Doune,  he 
was  to  have  been  way-laid  and  murdered  ;  that  very  night 
having  been  fixed  upon  for  carrying  the  resolution  into  ef¬ 
fect.  But,  as  he  had  shown  her  this  kindness,  she  wrould 
endeavour  to  procure,  from  her  people,  a  pardon  for  him, 
for  the  past.  She  then  directed  him  to  follow  slowly,  while 
she  would  proceed  on,  at  a  quick  pace,  and  overtake  some 
of  her  people,  to  whom  she  would  relate  her  accident,  and 
the  circumstances  attending  it.  She  then  informed  him  that 
if  she  waved  her  hand ,  upon  his  coming  in  sight  of  herself 
and  her  people,  he  was  to  retrace  his  steps  homeward,  there 
being  then  no  mercy  for  him  ;  but  if  she  waved  her  hand- 
Icerchief,  he  might  advance  without  fear.  To  his  heart¬ 
felt  delight,  on  coming  near  the  party,  the  signal  of  peace 
was  given,  when  lie  immediately  hastened  forward  to  the 
spot.  The  band,  who  had  been  in  deliberation  upon  his 
fate,  informed  him  that  the  lady’s  intercession  had  prevailed 
with  them  to  spare  his  life ;  and  that  now  he  might  con¬ 
sider  himself  safe,  provided  he  would  take  an  oath,  there 
and  then,  never  again  to  give  evidence  against  any  of 
their  people,  or  speak  to  any  one  about  their  practices, 
should  he  discover  them.  The  person  in  question  deemed 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


179 


it  prudent,  under  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case,  to  take 
the  oath  ;  after  which,  nothing  to  his  hurt,  in  cither  pui’se 
or  person,  ever  followed.*  The  lady,  thus  equipped,  and 
possessed  of  so  much  influence,  was  the  chief  female  of 
the  Gipsy  band,  to  whom  all  the  booty  obtained  at  the  fair 
was  brought,  at  the  house  where  she  put  up  at  for  the  day. 
It  would  seem  that  she  was  determined  to  save  her  friend 
at  all  events  ;  for,  had  her  band  not  complied  with  her 
wishes,  the  waving  of  her  hand— the  signal  for  him  to  make 
his  escape — would  have  defeated  their  intentions  for  that 
time. 

When  occurrences  of  so  grave  and  imposing  a  nature  as 
the  above  arc  taken  into  consideration,  the  fear  and  awe 
with  which  the  Gipsies  have  inspired  the  community  are  not 
to  be  wondered  at. 

The  Gipsies  at  Lochgellie  had  a  dance  peculiar  to  them¬ 
selves,  during  the  performance  of  which  they  sung  a  song, 
in  the  Gipsy  language,  which  they  called  a  “  croon.”  A 
Gipsy  informed  me  that  it  was  exactly  like  the  one  old 
Charles  Stewart,  and  other  Gipsies,  used  to  perform,  and 
which  I  will  describe.  At  the  wedding  near  Corstorphine, 
which  Charles  Stewart  attended,  as  already  mentioned,  there 
were  five  or  six  female  Gipsies  in  his  train.  On  such  occa- 


*  Such  interference  with  the  Gipsies  causes  them  much  greater  offence 
than  if  the  informer  was  a  principal  in  the  transaction.  To  such  people, 
their  advice  has  always  been:  “  Follow  your  nose,  and  let  sleeping  dogs 
lie.”  The  following  anecdote  will  illustrate  the  way  in  which  they  have 
revenged  themselves,  under  circumstances  different  from  the  above : 

Old  Will,  of  Phaup,  at  the  head  of  Ettriclc,  was  wont  to  shelter  them  for 
many  years.  They  asked  nothing  but  house-room,  and  grass  for  their  hors¬ 
es  ;  and,  though  they  sometimes  remained  for  several  days,  he  could  have 
left  every  chest  and  press  about  the  house  open,  with  the  certainty  that 
nothing  would  be  ndssing;  for,  he  said,  *•  he  aye  ken’d  fu’ weel  that  the 
toad  wad  keep  his  ain  hole  clean.”  But  it  happened  that  he  found  one  of 
the  gang,  through  the  trick  of  a  neighbouring  farmer,  feeding  six  horses  on 
the  best  piece  of  grass  on  his  farm,  which  he  was  keeping  for  winter  fod¬ 
der.  A  desperate  combat  followed,  and  the  Gipsy  was  thrashed  to  his 
heart’s  content,  and  hunted  out  of  the  neighbourhood.  A  warfare  of  five 
years’  duration  ensued  between  Will  and  the  Gipsies.  They  nearly  ruined 
him,  and,  at  the  end  of  that  period,  he  was  glad  to  make  up  matters  with 
his  old  friends,  and  shelter  them  as  formerly.  He  said  he  could  have  held 
his  own  with  them,  had  it  not  been  for  their  warlockry  ;  for  nothing  could 
he  keep  from  them — they  once  found  his  purse,  though  he  had  made  his 
wife  bury  it  in  the  garden. — Blackwood's  Magazine.  It  is  the  afterclap  that 
keeps  the  people  off  the  Gipsies,  and  secures  for  them  a  sort  of  toleration 
wherever  they  go. — En. 


180 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


sions  he  did  not  allow  males  to  accompany  him.  At  some 
distance  from  the  people  at  the  wedding,  but  within  hearing 
of  the  music,  the  females  formed  themselves  into  a  ring,  with 
Charles  in  the  centre.  Here,  in  the  midst  of  the  circle,  he 
danced  and  capered  in  the  most  antic  and  ludicrous  manner, 
sweeping  his  cudgel  around  his  body  in  all  directions,  and 
moving  with  much  grace  and  agility.  Sometimes  he  danced 
round  the  outside  of  the  circle.  The  females  danced  and 
courtesied  to  him,  as  he  faced  about  and  bowed  to  them. 
When  they  happened  to  go  wrong,  he  put  them  to  rights  by 
a  movement  of  his  cudgel ;  for  it  was  by  the  cudgel  that  all 
the  turns  and  figures  of  the  dance  were  regulated.  A  twii'l 
dismissed  the  females  ;  a  cut  recalled  them  ;  a  sweep  made 
them  squat  on  the  ground  ;  a  twist  again  called  them  up,  in 
an  instant,  to  the  dance.  In  short,  Stewart  distinctly  spoke 
to  his  female  dancers  by  means  of  his  cudgel,  commanding 
them  to  do  whatever  he  pleased,  without  opening  his  mouth 
to  one  of  them. 

George  Drummond,  a  Gipsy  chief  of  an  inferior  gang  in 
Fife,  danced  with  his  seraglio  of  females,  amounting  some¬ 
times  to  half  a  dozen,  in  the  same  manner  as  Stewart,  with¬ 
out  the  slightest  variation,  excepting  that  his  gestures  were, 
on  some  occasions,  extremely  lascivious.  He  threw  himself 
into  almost  every  attitude  in  which  the  human  body  can  be 
placed,  while  his  cudgel  was  flying  about  his  person  with 
great  violence.  All  the  movements  of  tire  dance  were  regu¬ 
lated  by  the  measures  of  an  indecent  song,  at  the  chorus  of 
which  the  circular  movements  of  Drummond’s  cudgel  ceased  ; 
when  one  of  the  females  faced  about  to  him,  and  joined  him 
with  her  voice,  the  gestures  of  both  being  exceedingly  ob¬ 
scene.  Drummond’s  appearance,  while  dancing,  has  been 
described  to  me,  by  a  gentleman  who  has  often  seen  him  per¬ 
forming,  as  exactly  like  what  is  called  a  “jumping-jack” — 
that  is,  a  human  figure,  cut  out  of  wood  or  paste-board,  with 
which  children  often  amuse  themselves,  by  regulating  its 
ludicrous  movements  by  means  of  strings  attached  to  various 
parts  of  it. 

Dr.  Clark,  in  his  account  of  his  travels  through  Russia, 
gives  a  description  of  a  Gipsy  dance  in  Moscow,  which  is, 
in  all  respects,  very  similar  to  that  performed  by  Stewart 
and  Drummond.  These  travels  came  into  my  hands  some  time 
after  I  had  taken  notes  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  dance.  Nap- 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


181 


kins  appear  to  have  been  nsecl  by  the  Russian  Gipsies,  -where 
sticks  were  employed  by  our  Scottisli  tribes.  No  mention, 
however,  is  made,  by  Dr.  Clark,  whether  the  females,  in  the 
dance  at  Moscow,  were  guided  by  signs  with  the  napkins,  in 
the  manner  in  which  Stewart  and  Drummond,  by  their  cud¬ 
gels,  directed  their  women  in  their  dances.  The  eyes  of  the 
females  were  constantly  fixed  upon  Stewart’s  cudgel.  Dr. 
Clark  is  of  opinion  that  the  national  dance  in  Russia,  called 
the  barina,  is  derived  from  the  Gipsies  ;  and  thinks  it  prob¬ 
able  that  our  common  hornpipe  is  taken  from  these  wan¬ 
derers.* 

George  Drummond  was,  in  rank,  quite  inferior  to  the 
Lochgellie  band,  who  called  him  a  “  beggar  Tinkler,”  and 
seemed  to  despise  him.  He  always  travelled  with  a  number 
of  females  in  his  company.  These  he  married  after  the 
custom  of  the  Gipsies,  and  divorced  some  of  them  over  the 
body  of  a  horse,  sacrificed  for  the  occasion  ;  a  description 
of  both  of  which  ceremonies  will  be  given  in  another  chap¬ 
ter.  He  chastised  his  women  with  his  cudgel,  without 
mercy,  causing  the  blood  to  flow  at  every  blow,  and  fre¬ 
quently  knocked  them  senseless  to  the  ground  ;  while  he 
would  call  out  to  them,  “  What  the  deevil  are  ye  fighting 
at — can  ye  no’  ’gree  ?  I’m  sure  there’s  no’  sae  mony  o’ 
ye  !”  although,  perhaps,  four  would  be  engaged  in  the  scuffle. 
Such  was  this  man’s  impudence  and  audacity,  that  he  some¬ 
times  carried  off  the  flesh  out  of  the  kail-pots  of  the  farmers  ; 
and  so  terrified  -were  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  Fife,  at 
some  of  the  Gipsy  women  who  followed  him,  that,  the  mo¬ 
ment  they  entered  their  doors,  salt  was  thrown  into  the  fire, 
to  set  at  defiance  the  witchcraft  which  they  believed  they 
possessed.  One  female,  called  Dancing  Tibby,  was,  in  par¬ 
ticular,  an  object  of  apprehension  and  suspicion.  In  Drum¬ 
mond’s  journeys  through  the  country,  when  he  came  at  night 
to  a  farmer’s  premises,  where  he  intended  to  lodge,  and 
found  his  place  occupied  by  others  of  his  gang,  he,  with¬ 
out  hesitation,  turned  them  out  of  their  quarters,  and 

*  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  Col.  Todd  is  of  opinion  that  the  Gipsies  origin¬ 
ally  came  from  Cabool,  in  Afghanistan.  I  will  here  give  a  description  of 
an  Afghan  dance,  very  like  the  Gipsy  dance  in  Scotland.  “  The  western 
Afghans  are  fond  of  a  particular  dance  called  Attum,  or  Ghoomboor,  in 
which  from  fourteen  to  twenty  people  move,  in  strange  attitudes,  with  shout¬ 
ing,  clapping  of  hands,  and  snapping  of  fingers,  in  a  circle,  round  a  single 
person,  who  plays  on  an  instrument  in  the  centre.”—  Fraser's  Library. 


182 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


took  possession  of  their  warm  beds  himself ;  letting  them 
shift  for  themselves  as  they  best  might.  This  man  lived 
till  he  was  ninety  years  of  age,  and  was,  from  his  youth,  im¬ 
pressed  with  a  belief  that  he  would  die  in  the  house  in 
which  he  was  born  ;  although  he  had  travelled  a  great  part 
of  the  continent,  and,  while  in  the  army,  had  been  in  various 
engagements.  He  fell  sick  when  at  some  distance  from  the 
place  of  his  nativity,  but  he  hired  a  conveyance,  and  drove 
with  haste  to  die  on  his  favourite  spot.  To  this  house  he 
was  allowed  admittance,  where  he  closed  his  earthly  career, 
in  about  forty-eight  hours  after  his  arrival.  Like  others  of 
his  tribe,  Drummond,  at  times,  gave  tokens  of  protection  to 
some  of  his  particular  friends,  outside  of  the  circle  of  his 
own  fraternity. 

James  Robertson,  a  Gipsy  closely  related  to  the  Loch- 
gellie  band,  of  whom  I  have  already  made  mention,  fre¬ 
quently  danced,  with  his  wife  and  numerous  sisters,  in  a  par¬ 
ticular  fashion,  changing  and  regulating  the  figures  of  the 
dance  by  means  of  a  bonnet ;  being,  I  believe,  the  same 
dance  which  I  have  attempted  to  describe  as  performed  by 
others  of  the  tribe  in  Scotland.  When  his  wife  and  sisters 
got  intoxicated,  which  was  often  the  case,  it  was  a  wild  and 
extravagant  scene  to  behold  those  light-footed  damsels,  with 
loose  and  flowing  hair,  dancing,  with  great  spirit,  on  the 
grass,  in  the  open  field,  while  James  was,  with  all  his  “  might 
and  main,”  like  the  devil  playing  to  the  witches,  in  “  Tam 
o’  Shanter,”  keeping  the  bacchanalians  in  fierce  and  ani¬ 
mated  music.  When  like  to  flag  in  his  exertions  to  please 
them  with  his  fiddle,  they  have  been  heard  calling  loudly  to 
him,  like  Maggy  Lawder  to  Rob  the  Ranter,  “  Play  up, 
Jamie  Robertson  ;  if  ever  we  do  weel,  it  will  be  a  wonder 
being  totally  regardless  of  all  sense  of  decorum  and  decency. 

The  Gipsies  in  Fife  followed  the  same  occupations,  in  all 
respects,  as  those  in  other  parts  of  Scotland,  and  were  also 
dexterous  at  all  athletic  exercises.  They  were  exceedingly 
fond  of  cock-fighting,  and,  when  the  season  came  round  for 
that  amusement,  many  a  good  cock  was  missing  from  the 
farm-yards.  The  Lochgellie  band  considered  begging  a  dis¬ 
grace  to  their  tribe.  At  times  they  were  handsomely  dressed, 
wearing  silver  buckles  in  their  shoes,  gold  rings  on  their 
fingers,  and  gold  and  silver  brooches  in  the  bosoms  of  their 
ruffled  shirts.  They  killed,  at  Martinmass,  fat  cattle  for 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 


183 


their  winter’s  provisions,  and  lived  on  the  best  victuals  the 
country  could  produce.  It  is,  1  believe,  the  common  practice, 
among  inferior  Scotch  traders,  for  those  who  receive  money 
to  treat  the  payer,  or  return  a  trifle  of  the  payment,  called 
a  luck-penny  :  but,  in  opposition  to  this  practice,  the  Loch- 
gellie  Gipsies  always  treated  those  to  whom  they  paid 
money  for  what  they  purchased  of  them.  They  occasionally 
attended  the  church,  and  sometimes  got  their  children  bap¬ 
tized  :  but  when  the  clergyman  refused  them  that  privilege, 
they  baptized  them  themselves.  At  their  baptisms,  they  had 
great  feastings  and  drinkings.  Their  favourite  beverage, 
on  such  occasions,  was  oatmeal  and  whiskey,  mixed.  When 
intoxicated,  they  were  sometimes  very  fond  of  arguing  and 
expostulating  with  clergymen  on  points  of  morality.  With 
regard  to  the  internal  government  of  the  Lochgellie  Gipsies, 
I  can  only  find  that  they  held  consultations  among  them¬ 
selves,  relative  to  their  affairs,  and  that  the  females  had 
votes  as  well  as  the  males,  but  that  old  Charles  Graham  had 
the  casting  vote  ;  while,  in  his  absence,  his  wife,  Ann  Brown, 
managed  their  concerns. 

There  is  a  strict  division  of  property  among  the  Gipsies  ; 
community  of  goods  having  no  place  among  them.  The 
heads  of  each  family,  although  travelling  in  one  band,  manu¬ 
facture  and  vend  their  own  articles  of  merchandise,  for  the 
support  of  their  own  families.  The  following  particulars 
are  illustrative  of  this  fact  among  the  Gipsies  : — A  farmer 
in  Fife,  who  would  never  allow  them  to  kindle  fires  in  his 
out-houses,  had  a  band  of  them,  of  about  twenty-five  persons, 
quartered  one  night  on  his  farm.  Next  morning,  the  chief 
female  borrowed  from  the  family  a  large  copper  caldron, 
used  for  the  purposes  of  the  dairy,  with  which  she  had  re¬ 
quested  permission  to  cook  the  breakfast  of  the  horde  upon 
the  kitchen  fire.  This  having  beeu  granted,  each  family 
produced  a  small  linen  bag,  (not  the  beggar’s  wallet,)  made 
of  coarse  materials,  containing  oatmeal ;  of  which  at  least 
four  were  brought  into  the  apartment.  The  female  who 
prepared  the  repast  went  regularly  over  the  bags,  taking 
out  the  meal  in  proportion  to  the  members  of  the  families  to 
which  they  respectively  belonged,  and  repeated  her  visits  in 
this  manner  till  the  porridge  was  ready  to  be  served  up. 

I  shall  conclude  my  account  of  the  Gipsies  in  Fife  by 
mentioning  the  curious  fact  that,  within  these  sixty  years,  a 


184 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


gentleman  of  considerable  landed  property,  between  the 
Forth  and  the  Tay,  abandoned  his  relatives,  and  travelled 
over  the  kingdom  in  the  society  of  the  Gipsies.  He  married 
one  of  the  tribe,  of  the  name  of  Ogilvie,  who  had  two 
daughters  to  him.  Sometimes  he  quartered,  it  is  said,  upon 
his  own  estate,  disguised,  of  course,  among  the  gang,  to  the 
great  annoyance  of  his  relatives,  who  were  horrified  at  the 
idea  of  his  becoming  a  Tinkler,  and  alarmed  at  the  claims 
which  he  occasionally  made  upon  the  estate.  His  daughters 
travel  the  country,  at  the  present  day,  as  common  Gipsies. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES. 

The  county  of  Peebles,  or  Tweed-dale,  appears  to  have 
been  more  frequented  by  the  Gipsies  than,  perhaps,  any 
other  part  of  Scotland.  So  far  back  as  the  time  of  Henry 
Lord  Darnley,  when  the  Gipsies  were  countenanced  by  the 
government,  we  find,  according  to  Buchanan,  that  this  county 
was  a  favourite  resort  of  banditti  ;  so  much  so,  that  when 
Darnley  took  up  his  residence  in  Peebles,  for  the  purpose  of 
shunning  the  company  of  his  wife,  Queen  Mary,  he  “  found 
the  place  so  cold,  so  infested  with  thieves,  and  so  destitute 
of  provisions,  that  he  was  driven  from  it,  to  avoid  being 
fleeced  and  starved  by  rogues  and  beggars.”  In  the  poems 
of  Dr.  Pennecuik,  as  well  as  in  his  history  of  Peebles-shire, 
published  in  the  year  1715,  the  Gipsy  bands  are  frequently 
taken  notice  of.  But,  notwithstanding  the  attachment  which 
the  tribe  had  for  the  romantic  glens  of  Tweed-dale,  no  evi¬ 
dence  exists  of  their  ever  having  had  a  permanent  habitation 
within  the  shire.  They  appear  to  have  resorted  to  that  pas¬ 
toral  district  during  only  the  months  of  spring,  summer  and 
autumn.  Their  partiality  for  this  part  of  Scotland  may  be 
attributed  to  three  reasons. 

The  first  reason  is,  Tweed-dale  was  part  of  the  district  in 
which,  if  not  the  first,  at  least  the  second,  Gipsy  family  in 
Scotland  claimed,  at  one  time,  a  right  to  travel,  as  its  own 
peculiar  privilege.  The  chief  of  this  family  was  called  Baillie, 
who  claimed  kindred,  in  the  bastard  line,  to  one  of  the  most 
ancient  families  in  the  kingdom,  of  the  name  of  Baillie,  once 
Balliol.*  In  consequence  of  this  alleged  connexion,  this 
(Jipsy  family  also  claimed,  as  its  right,  to  travel  in  the  up- 

*  This  claim  appears  doubtful,  for  there  were  Gipsies  of  the  name  of 
Baillie  (Bailyow)  as  far  back  as  1540,  as  already  mentioned.  However, 
the  particulars  of  the  laird's  intrigue  with  the  beautiful  Gipsy  girl,  arc  im¬ 
printed  on  the  minds  of  the  Gipsies  of  that  name  at  the  present  day. 

(185) 


186 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


per  ward  of  Lanarkshire,  adjoining  Tweed-dale,  in  which 
district  the  Scottish  family  alluded  to  possessed  estates  ; 
and  one  of  the  principal  places  of  the  Gipsy  rendezvous  was 
an  old  ruin,  among  the  hills,  in  the  upper  part  of  the  parish 
of  Lamington,  or  rather  Wan  el  in  those  days. 

The  second  reason  is,  that  the  surface  of  Tweed-dale  is 
much  adapted  to  the  wandering  disposition  of  the  Gipsies. 
It  is  mountainous,  but  everywhere  intersected  by  foot-paths 
and  bridle-roads,  affording  an  easy  passage  to  the  Gipsies, 
on  foot  or  horseback.  On  its  many  hills  are  plenty  of  game  ; 
and  its  infinite  number  of  beautiful  streams,  including  about 
thirty-five  miles  of  the  highest  part  of  the  Tweed,  abound 
with  trout  of  the  finest  quality.  The  Gipsies,  being  fond  of 
game,  and  much  addicted  to  poaching  and  fishing,  flocked  to 
Tweed-dale  and  the  adjoining  upland  districts  of  a  similar 
character,  comprehending  some  of  the  most  remote  and  least 
frequented  parts  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  All  these  dis¬ 
tricts  being  covered  with  vast  flocks  of  sheep,  many  of  which 
were  frequently  dying  of  various  diseases,  the  Gipsies  never 
wanted  a  plentiful  supply  of  that  sort  of  food  from  the  fami¬ 
lies  of  the  store-masters.* 

And  the  third  reason  is,  that,  in  the  pastoral  districts  in 
the  upper  parts  of  the  shires  of  Peebles,  Selkirk,  Dumfries, 
and  Lanark,  including  all  that  mountainous  tract  of  land  in 
which  the  rivers  Tweed,  Annan  and  Clyde  have  their 
sources,  the  Gipsies  were,  in  a  great  measure,  secure  from 
the  officers  of  the  law,  and  enjoyed  their  favourite  amuse¬ 
ments  without  molestation  or  hindrance. 

Before,  and  long  after,  the  year  1745,  the  male  branches 
of  the  Baillies  traversed  Scotland,  mounted  on  the  best  hor- 

■*  Tine  Gipsies  were  not  spared  of  braxy,  of  which  they  were  fond.  I  have 
known  natives  of  Tweed-dale  and  Ettrick  Forest,  who  preferred  braxy  to 
the  best  meat  killed  by  the  hand  of  man.  It  has  a  particular  sharp  relish, 
which  made  them  so  fond  of  it. 

[Braxy  is  the  flesh  of  sheep  which  have  died  of  a  certain  disease.  When 
the  Gipsies  are  taunted  with  eating  what  some  call  carrion,  they  very 
wittily  reply :  “  The  flesh  of  a  beast  which  God  kills  must  be  better  than 
that  of  one  killed  by  the  hand  of  man.”  Such  flesh,  “  killed  by  the  hand  of 
God,”  is  often  killed  in  this  manner  :  They  will  administer  to  swine  a  drug 
affecting  the  brain  only,  which  will  cause  speedy  death  ;  when  they  will 
call  and  obtain  the  carcass,  without  suspicion,  and  feast  on  the  flesh,  which 
has  been  in  no  way  injured. — Borrow.  They  will  also  stuff  wool  down  a 
sheep’s  throat,  and  direct  the  farmer’s  attention  to  it  when  near  its  last  gasp, 
and  obtain  the  carcass  after  being  skinned. — Ed.] 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSLES.  187 


ses  to  be  found  in  the  country  ;  themselves  dressed  in  long 
coats,  made  of  the  finest  scarlet  and  green  cloth,  ruffled  at 
hands  and  breast,  booted  and  spurred  ;  with  cocked  hats  on 
their  heads,  pistols  in  their  belts,  and  broad-swords  by  then- 
sides  :  and  at  the  heels  of  their  horses  followed  greyhounds, 
and  other  dogs  of  the  chase,  for  their  amusement.  Some  of 
them  assumed  the  manners  and  characters  of  gentlemen, 
which  they  supported  with  wonderful  art  and  propriety. 
The  females  attended  fairs  in  the  attire  of  ladies,  riding  on 
ponies,  with  side-saddles,  in  the  best  style.  On  these  occa¬ 
sions,  the  children  were  left  in  charge  of  their  servants,  per¬ 
haps  in  an  old  out-house  or  hut,  in  some  wild,  sequestered 
glen,  in  Tweed-dale  or  Clydesdale. 

The  greater  part  of  the  tenantry  were  kind  to  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  and  many  encouraged  them  to  frequent  their  premises. 
Tweed-dale  being  the  favourite  resort  of  the  principal  horde, 
they  generally  abstained  from  injuring  the  property  of  the 
greater  part  of  the  inhabitants.  Indeed,  1  have  been  in¬ 
formed,  by  eye-witnesses,  that  several  of  the  farmers  in 
Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale,  at  so  late  a  period  as  about  the 
year  1770,  accepted  of  entertainments  from  the  principal 
Gipsies,  dining  with  them  in  the  open  fields,  or  in  some  old, 
unoccupied  out-house,  or  kiln.  Their  repast,  on  such  occa¬ 
sions,  was  composed  of  the  best  viands  the  country  could 
produce.  On  one  occasion,  a  band  dined  on  the  green-sward, 
near  Douglass-mill,  when  the  Gipsies  drank  their  wine,  after 
dinner,  as  if  they  had  been  the  best  in  the  land.  Some  of 
the  landed  proprietors,  however,  introduced  clauses  in  their 
leases  prohibiting  their  tenants  from  harbouring  the  Gip¬ 
sies  ;  and  the  Laird  of  Dolphington  is  mentioned  as  one. 
The  tribe,  on  hearing  of  the  restriction,  expressed  great  in¬ 
dignation  at  the  Laird’s  conduct  in  adopting  so  effectual  a 
method  of  banishing  them  from  the  district.  But  so  strong 
were  the  attachments  which  some  of  the  Gipsies  displayed 
towards  the  inhabitants,  that  the  chief  of  the  Ruthvens 
actually  wept  like  a  child,  whenever  the  misfortunes  of  the 
ancient  family  of  Murray,  of  Philliphaugh,  were  mentioned 
to  him. 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  Gipsies  who  frequented 
Tweed-dale,  and  the  country  adjacent,  I  have  thought  it  pro¬ 
per  to  mention  particularly  the  family  of  Baillie  ;  for  this 
family  produced  kings  and  queens,  or,  in  their  language, 


188 


A  BISTORT  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


baurie  rajahs  and  baurie  raunies ,  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  At 
one  period  they  seem  to  have  exercised  a  sort  of  sovereign 
authority  in  the  tribe,  over  almost  the  whole  of  Scotland ; 
and,  according  to  the  ordinary  practice  of  writing  history  of 
a  great  deal  more  importance,  they  should,  as  the  chief  fa¬ 
mily  of  a  tribe,  be  particularly  noticed. 

The  quarrels  of  the  Gipsies  frequently  broke  out  in  an 
instant,  and  almost  without  a  visible  cause.  A  farmer’s 
wife,  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  was  one  day  sitting  in 
the  midst  of  a  band  of  them,  at  work  in  an  old  out-house,  en¬ 
quiring  the  news  of  the  country  of  them,  when,  in  an  in¬ 
stant,  a  shower  of  horns  and  hammers,  open  knives,  files, 
and  fiery  peats,  were  flying  through  the  house,  at  one  an¬ 
other’s  heads.  The  good-wife  took  to  her  heels  immediately, 
to  get  out  of  the  fray.  Some  of  their  conflicts  were  terrible 
in  the  extreme.  Dr.  Pennecuik,  in  his  history  of  Peebles¬ 
shire,  already  referred  to,  gives  an  account  of  a  sanguinary 
struggle  that  took  place  on  his  estate  of  Romanno,  in  Tweed- 
dale.  The  following  are  the  particulars  in  his  own  words : 

“  Upon  the  1st  of  October,  1677,  there  happened  at  Ro¬ 
manno,  on  the  very  spot  where  now  the  dove-cot  is  built,  a 
remarkable  poly m achy  betwixt  two  clans  of  Gipsies,  the 
Fawes  and  the  Shawes,  who  had  come  from  Haddington  fair, 
and  were  going  to  Harestanes,  to  meet  two  other  clans  of 
these  rogues,  the  Baillies  and  Browns,  with  a  resolution  to 
fight  them.  They  fell  out,  at  Romanno,  among  themselves, 
about  dividing  the  spoil  they  had  got  at  Haddington,  and 
fought  it  manfully.  Of  the  Fawes,  there  were  four  brethren 
and  a  brother’s  son ;  of  the  Shawes,  the  father  with  three 
sons  ;  and  several  women  on  both  sides.  Old  Sandie  Fawe, 
a  bold  and  proper  fellow*  with  his  wife,  then  with  child, 
were  both  killed  dead  upon  the  place  ;  and  his  brother 
George  very  dangerously  wounded.  In  February,  1678,  old 
Robin  Shawe,  the  Gipsy,  and  his  three  sons,  were  hanged 
at  the  Grass-market,  for  the  above-mentioned  murder,  com¬ 
mitted  at  Romanno  ;  and  John  Fawe  was  hanged,  the  Wed¬ 
nesday  following,  for  another  murder.  Sir  Archibald  Prim¬ 
rose  was  justice  general  at  the  time,  and  Sir  George 
McKenzie  king’s  advocate.”  Contrasting  the  obstinate 

*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  that  the  Doctor  calls  this  Gipsy  a  “  bold  and 
proper  fellow.”  He  was,  in  all  probability,  a  fine  specimen  of  physical 
manhood. — Ed. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLTDESDALE  GIPSIES.  189 


ferocity  of  the  Gipsy  with  the  harmless  and  innocent  nature 
of  the  dove,  Dr.  Pennecuik  erected  on  the  spot  a  dove-cot ; 
and,  to  commemorate  the  battle,  placed  upon  the  lintel  of 
the  door  the  following  inscription  : 

“A.  D.  1G83. 

The  field  of  Gipsie  blood,  which  here  you  see, 

A  shelter  for  the  harmless  dove  shall  be.” 


This  Gipsy  battle  is  also  noticed  by  Lord  Fountainhall,  in 
the  following  extract  from  his  MS.,  now  in  the  Advocate’s 
Library  : — “Sixth  February,  1 G7 8. — Four  Egyptians,  of  the 
name  of  Shaw,  were  this  day  hanged — the  father  and  three 
sons — for  the  slaughter  committed  by  them  on  the  Faws, 
(another  tribe  of  these  vagabonds,  worse  than  the  mendi¬ 
cants  validi,  mentioned  in  the  code,)  in  a  drunken  squabble, 
made  by  them  in  a  rendezvous  they  had  at  Romanno,  with  a 
design  to  unite  their  forces  against  the  clans  of  Browns  and 
Bailezies  (Baillies),  that  were  come  over  from  Ireland*  to 
chase  them  back  again,  that  they  might  not  share  in  their 
labours  ;  but,  in  their  ramble,  they  discovered  and  committed 
the  foresaid  murder ;  and  sundry  of  them,  of  both  sides, 
were  apprehended.” — “  Tne  four  being  thrown  into  a  hole 
dug  for  them  in  the  Greyfriars  churchyard,  with  their 
clothes  on,  the  next  morning  the  body  of  the  youngest  of 
the  three  sons,  (who  was  scarce  sixteen,)  was  missed.  Some 
thought  that,  being  last  thrown  over  the  ladder,  and  first 
cut  down,  and  in  full  vigour,  and  not  much  earth  placed  upon 
him,  and  lying  uppermost,  and  so  not  so  ready  to  smother, 
the  fermentation  of  the  blood,  and  heat  of  the  bodies  under 
him,  might  cause  him  to  rebound,  and  throw  off  the  earth, 
and  recover  ere  the  morning,  and  steal  away.  Which,  if 
true,  he  deserved  his  life,  though  the  magistrates  deserved  a 
reprimand.  But  others,  more  probably,  thought  his  body 
was  stolen  away  by  some  chirurgeon,  or  his  servant,  to  make 
an  anatomical  dissection  on.” 

About  a  century  after  this  conflict,  we  find  the  nature  of 
the  Gipsies  still  unchanged.  The  following  details  of  one 

*  The  Scottish  Gipsies,  as  I  have  already  said,  have  a  tradition  that  their 
ancestors  came  into  Scotland  by  way  of  Ireland. 

[The  allusion  to  that  circumstance  by  the  Gipsies,  on  this  occasion,  was 
evidently  to  throw  dust  into  the  eyes  of  the  Scottish  authorities,  by  whom 
the  whole  tribe  in  "cotland  were  proscribed.  —  Ed.] 


190 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  their  general  engagements  will  serve  as  a  specimen  of 
the  obstinate  and  desperate  manner  in  which,  to  a  late 
period,  they  fought  among  themselves.  The  battle  took 
place  at  the  bridge  of  Hawick,  in  the  spring  of  the  year 
1772,  or  1773.-  The  particulars  are  derived  from  the  late 
Mr.  Robert  Laidlaw,  Tenant  of  Fanash,  a  gentleman  of 
respectability,  who  was  an  eye-witness  to  the  scene  of  action. 
It  was  understood  that  this  battle  originated  in  some  en¬ 
croachments  of  the  one  tribe  upon  the  district  assigned  to 
the  other  ;  a  principal  source  of  quarrels  among  these  wan¬ 
derers.  And  it  was  agreed  to,  by  the  contending  parties, 
that  they  were  to  fight  out  their  dispute  the  first  time  they 
should  meet,  which,  as  just  said,  happened  at  Hawick. 

On  the  one  side,  in  this  battle,  was  the  celebrated  Alex¬ 
ander  Kennedy,  a  handsome  and  athletic  man,  and  head  of 
his  tribe..  Next  to  him,  in  consideration,  was  little  Wull 
Ruthven,  Kennedy’s  father-in-law.  This  man  was  known,  all 
over  the  country,  by  the  extraordinary  title  of  the  Earl  of 
Hell  ;*  and,  although  he  was  above  five  feet  ten  inches  in 
height,  he  got  the  appellation  of  Little  Wull,  to  distinguish 
him  from  Muckle  William  Ruthven,  who  was  a  man  of  un¬ 
common  stature  and  personal  strength.!  The  earl’s  son  was 
also  in  the  fray.  These  were  the  chief  men  in  Kennedy’s 
band.  Jean  Ruthven,  Kennedy’s  wife,  was  also  present ; 
with  a  great  number  of  inferior  members  of  the  clan,  males 
as  well  as  females,  of  all  ages,  down  to  mere  children.  The 
opposite  band  consisted  of  old  Rob  Tait,  the  chieftain  of  his 
horde,  Jacob  Tait,  young  Rob  Tait,  and  three  of  old  Rob 
Tait’s  sons-in-law.  These  individuals,  with  Jean  Gordon, 
old  Tait’s  wife,  and  a  numerous  train  of  youths  of  both 
sexes  and  various  ages,  composed  the  adherents  of  old  Rob¬ 
ert  Tait.  These  adverse  tribes  were  all  closely  connected 
with  one  another  by  the  ties  of  blood.  The  Kennedys  and 
Ruthvens  were  from  the  ancient  burgh  of  Lochmaben. 

*  This  seems  a  favourite  title  among  the  Tinklers.  One,  of  the  name  of 
Young,  bears  it  at  the  present  time.  But  the  Gipsies  are  not  singular  in 
these  terrible  titles.  In  the  late  Burmese  war,  we  find  his  Burmese  majesty- 
creating  one  of  his  generals  “  King  of  Hell,  Prince  of  Harkness.” — See 
Countable's  Miscellany . 

f  A  friend,  in  writing  me,  says:  “  I  still  think  I  see  him,  (Muckle  Wull,) 
bruising  the  charred  peat  over  the  flame  of  his  furnace,  with  hands  equal 
to  two  pair  of  hands  of  the  modern  day  ;  while  his  withered  and  hairy 
shackle-bones  were  more  like  the  postern  joints  of  a  sorrel  cart-horse  than 
anything  else.” 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  191 


The  whole  of  the  Gipses  in  the  field,  females  as  well  as 
males,  were  armed  with  bludgeons,  excepting  some  of  the 
Taits,  who  carried  cutlasses,  and  pieces  of  iron  hoops, 
notched  and  serrated  on  either  side,  like  a  saw,  and  fixed  to 
the  end  of  sticks.  The  boldest  of  the  tribe  were  in  front 
of  their  respective  bands,  with  their  children  and  the  other 
members  of  their  clan  in  the  rear,  forming  a  long  train  be¬ 
hind  them.  In  this  order  both  parties  boldly  advanced,  with 
their  weapons  uplifted  above  their  heads.  Both  sides  fought 
with  extraordinary  fury  and  obstinacy.  Sometimes  the  one 
band  gave  way,  and  sometimes  the  other ;  but  both,  again 
and  again,  returned  to  the  combat  with  fresh  ardour.  Not 
a  word  was  spoken  during  the  struggle  ;  nothing  was  heard 
but  the  rattling  of  the  cudgels  and  the  strokes  of  the  cut¬ 
lasses.  After  a  long  and  doubtful  contest,  Jean  Ruthven, 
big  with  child  at  the  time,  at  last  received,  among  many 
other  blows,  a  dreadful  wound  with  a  cutlass.  She  was  cut 
to  the  bone,  above  and  below  the  breast,  particularly  on  one 
side.  It  was  said  the  slashes  were  so  large  and  deep  that 
one  of  her  breasts  was  nearly  severed  from  her  body,  and 
that  the  motions  of  her  lungs,  while  she  breathed,  were  ob¬ 
served  through  the  aperture  between  her  ribs.  But,  notwith¬ 
standing  her  dreadful  condition,  she  would  neither  quit  the 
field  nor  yield,  but  continued  to  assist  her  husband  as  long 
as  she  was  able.  Her  father,  the  Earl  of  Hell,  was  also 
shockingly  wounded  ;  the  flesh  being  literally  cut  from  the 
bone  of  one  of  his  legs,  and,  in  the  words  of  my  informant, 
“hanging  down  over  his  ankles,  like  beef  steaks.”  The  earl 
left  the  field  to  get  his  wounds  dressed  ;  but  observing  his 
daughter,  Kennedy’s  wife,  so  dangerously  wounded,  he  lost 
heart,  and,  with  others  of  his  party,  fled,  leaving  Kennedy 
alone,  to  defend  himself  against  the  whole  of  the  clan  of 
Tait. 

Having  now  all  the  Taits,  young  and  old,  male  and  fe¬ 
male,  to  contend  with,  Kennedy,  like  an  experienced  warri¬ 
or,  took  advantage  of  the  local  situation  of  the  place.  Post¬ 
ing  himself  on  the  narrow  bridge  of  Hawick,  he  defended 
himself  in  the  defile,  with  his  bludgeon,  against  the  whole 
of  his  infuriated  enemies.  His  handsome  person,  his  un¬ 
daunted  bravery,  his  extraordinary  dexterity  in  handling 
his  weapon,  and  his  desperate  situation,  (for  it  was  evident 
to  all  that  the  Taits  thirsted  for  his  blood,  and  were  deter- 


192 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


mined  to  despatch  him  on  the  spot,)  excited  a  general  and 
lively  interest  in  his  favour,  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town,  who  were  present,  and  had  witnessed  the  conflict  with 
amazement  and  horror.  In  one  dash  to  the  front,  and  with 
one  powerful  sweep  of  his  cudgel,  he  disarmed  two  of  the 
Taits,  and  cutting  a  third  to  the  skull,  felled  him  to  the 
ground.  He  sometimes  daringly  advanced  upon  his  assail¬ 
ants,  and  drove  the  whole  band  before  him,  pell-mell.  When 
he  broke  one  cudgel  on  his  enemies,  by  his  powerful  arm, 
the  town’s  people  were  ready  to  hand  him  another.  Still, 
the  vindictive  Taits  rallied,  and  renewed  the  charge  with 
unabated  vigour  ;  and  every  one  present  expected  that  Ken¬ 
nedy  would  fall  a  sacrifice  to  their  desperate  fury.  A  party 
of  messengers  aud  constables  at  last  arrived  to  his  relief, 
when  the  Taits  were  all  apprehended,  and  imprisoned  ;  but, 
as  none  of  the  Gipsies  were  actually  slain  in  the  fray,  they 
were  soon  set  at  liberty* 

In  this  battle,  it  was  said  that  every  Gipsy,  except  Alex¬ 
ander  Kennedy,  the  brave  chief,  was  severely  wounded  ; 
and  that  the  ground  on  which  they  fought  was  wet  with 
blood.  Jean  Gordon,  however,  stole,  unobserved,  from  her 
band,  and,  taking  a  circuitous  road,  came  behind  Kennedy, 
and  struck  him  on  the  head  with  her  cudgel.  What  aston¬ 
ished  the  inhabitants  of  Hawick  the  most  of  all,  was  the 
fierce  and  stubborn  disposition  of  the  Gipsy  females.  It 
was  remarked  that,  when  they  were  knocked  down  senseless 
to  the  ground,  they  rose  again,  with  redoubled  vigour  and 
energy,  to  the  combat.  This  unconquerable  obstinacy  and 
courage  of  their  females  is  held  in  high  estimation  by  the 

*  This  Gipsy  battle  is  alluded  to  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  a  postcript  to  a 
letter  to  Captain  Adam  Ferguson,  16th  April,  1819. 

“  By  the  by,  old  Kennedy  the  tinker  swam  for  his  life  at  Jedburgh, 
and  was  only,  by  the  sophisticated  and  timed  evidence  of  a  seceding  doctor, 
who  differed  from  all  his  brethren,  saved  from  a  well-deserved  gibbet.  He 
goes  to  botanize  for  fourteen  years.  Pray  tell  this  to  the  Duke  (of  Buccleuch,) 
for  he  was  an  old  soldier  of  the  Duke,  and  the  Duke’s  old  soldier.  Six  of 
his  brethren  were,  I  am  told,  in  the  court,  and  kith  and  kin  without  end. 
I  am  sorry  so  many  of  the  clan  are  left.  The  cause  of  the  quarrel  with 
the  murdered  man,  was  an  old  feud  between  two  Gipsy  clans,  the  Kennedys 
and  Irvings,  which,  about  forty  years  since,  gave  rise  to  a  desperate  quar¬ 
rel  and  battle  at  Hawick-green,  in  which  the  grandfather  of  both  Kennedy  and 
the  man  whom  he  murdered  were  engaged.” — Lockhart's  Life  of  Sir  Waller 
Scott.  Alexander  Kennedy  was  tried  for  murdering  Irving,  at  Yarrowford. 

[This  Gipsy  fray  at  Hawick  is  known  among  the  English  Gipsies  as 
“  the  Battle  of  the  Bridge.” — Ed.] 


TWEED  DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSLES.  193 


tribe.  I  once  heard  a  Gipsy  sing  a  song,  which  celebrated 
one  of  their  battles  ;  and,  in  it,  the  brave  and  determined 
manner  in  which  the  girls  bore  the  blows  of  the  cudgel  over 
their  heads  was  particularly  applauded. 

The  battle  at  Hawick  was  not  decisive  to  either  party. 
The  hostile  bands,  a  short  time  afterwards,  came  in  contact, 
in  Ettrick  Forest,  at  a  place,  on  the  water  of  Teema,  called 
Heephope.  They  did  not,  however,  engage  here  ;  but  the 
females  on  both  sides,  at  some  distance  from  one  another, 
with  a  stream  between  them,  scolded  and  cursed,  and,  clap¬ 
ping  their  hands,  urged  the  males  again  to  fight.  The  men, 
however,  more  cautious,  only  observed  a  sullen  and  gloomy 
silence  at  this  meeting.  Probably  both  parties,  from  expe¬ 
rience,  were  unwilling  to  renew  the  fight,  being  aware  of 
the  consequences  which  would  follow,  should  they  again 
close  in  battle.  The  two  clans  then  separated,  each  taking 
different  roads,  but  both  keeping  possession  of  the  disputed 
district.  In  the  course  of  a  few  days,  they  again  met  in 
Eskdale  moor,  when  a  second  desperate  conflict  ensued. 
The  Taits  were  here  completely  routed,  and  driven  from 
the  district,  in  which  they  had  attempted  to  travel  by  force. 

The  country-people  were  horrified  at  the  sight  of  the 
wounded  Tinklers,  after  these  sanguinary  engagements. 
Several  of  them,  lame  and  exhausted,  in  consequence  of  the 
severity  of  their  numerous  wounds,  were,  by  the  assistance 
of  their  tribe,  carried  through  the  country  on  the  backs  of 
asses  ;  so  much  were  they  cut  up  in  their  persons.  Some  of 
them,  it  was  said,  were  slain  outright,  and  never  more  heard 
of.  Jean  Ruthven,  however,  who  was  so  dreadfully  slashed, 
recovered  from  her  wounds,  to  the  surprise  of  all  who  had 
seen  her  mangled  body,  which  was  sewed  in  different  parts 
by  her  clan.  These  battles  were  talked  of  for  thirty  miles 
around  the  country.  I  have  heard  old  people  speak  of  them, 
with  fear  and  wonder  at  the  fierce,  unyielding  disposition 
of  the  willful  and  vindictive  Tinklers.* 

*  Grellmann,  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies,  says:  “'They  are  loquacious 
and  quarrelsome  in  the  highest  degree.  In  the  public  markets,  and  before 
ale-houses,  where  they  are  surrounded  by  spectators,  they  bawl,  spit  at 
each  other,  catch  up  sticks  and  cudgels,  vapour  and  brandish  them  over 
their  heads,  throw  dust  and  dirt ;  now  run  from  each  other,  then  back 
again,  with  furious  gestures  and  threats.  The  women  scream,  drag  their 
husbands  by  force  from  the  scene  of  action  :  these  break  from  them  again, 
and  return  to  it.  1  lie  children,  too,  howl  piteously."  But  I  am  at  a  loss 

9 


194 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


"We  have  already  seen  that  the  female  Gipsies  are  nearly 
as  expert  at  handling  the  cudgel,  and  fully  as  fierce  and  un¬ 
yielding  in  their  quarrels  and  conflicts,  as  the  males  of  their 
race.  The  following  particulars  relative  to  a  Gipsy  scuffle, 
derived  from  an  eye-witness,  will  illustrate  how  a  Gipsy  wo¬ 
man,  of  the  name  of  Rebecca  Keith,  displayed  no  little  dex¬ 
terity  in  the  effective  use  which  she  made  of  her  bludgeon. 

Two  gangs  of  Gipsies,  of  different  tribes,  had  taken  up 
their  quarters,  on  a  Saturday,  the  one  at  the  town  of  Dum- 
blane,  the  other  at  a  farm-steading  on  the  estate  of  Cromlix, 
in  the  neighbourhood.  On  the  Sunday  following,  the  Dum- 
blane  horde  paid  a  visit  to  the  others,  at  their  country 
quarters.  The  place  set  apart  for  their  accommodation  was 
an  old  kiln,  of  which  they  had  possession,  where  they  were 
feasted  with  abundance  of  savoury  viands,  and  regaled  with 
mountain  dew,  in  copious  libations,  of  quality  fit  for  a  prince. 
The  country  squad  were  of  the  Keith  fraternity,  and  their 
queen,  or  head  personage,  at  the  time,  was  Rebecca  Keith, 
past  the  middle  age,  but  of  gigantic  stature,  and  great  mus¬ 
cular  power.  In  the  course  of  their  carousal,  a  quarrel 
ensued  between  the  two  gangs,  and  a  fierce  battle  followed. 
The  Keiths  were  the  weaker  party,  but  Becca,  as  she  was 
called  by  the  country- people,  performed  prodigies  of  valour, 
against  fearful  odds,  with  only  the  aid  of  her  strong,  hard- 
worn  shoe,  which  she  wielded  with  the  dexterity  and  effect 
of  an  experienced  cudgelist.  She  appeared,  however,  unable 
much  longer  to  contend  against  her  too  numerous  opponents. 
Being  a  great  favourite  with  all,  especially  with  the  inmates 
of  the  farm  which  was  the  scene  of  encounter,  two  young 
boys — the  informant  and  the  herd-callant — who  witnessed 
the  engagement,  and  whose  sympathy  was  altogether  on  the 
side  of  the  valourous  Becca,  exchanged  a  hurried  and  whis¬ 
pering  remark  to  each  other  that,  “  if  she  had  the  soople  of 
a  flail,  they  thought  she  would  do  gude  wark.”  No  sooner 
said  than  done.  The  herd-boy  went  off  at  once  to  the  barn, 
cut  the  thongs  asunder,  and  returned,  in  a  twinkling,  with 

to  understand  the  object  of  such  an  affray,  as  given  by  this  author,  on 
any  other  theory  than  that  of  collecting  crowds,  in  the  places  mentioned, 
to  enable  them  the  more  easily  to  pick  pockets.  For  Grellmann  adds: 
“  After  a  short  time,  without  any  persons  interfering,  when  they  have  cried 
and  make  a  noise  till  they  are  tired,  and  without  either  party  having  re¬ 
ceived  any  personal  injury,  the  affair  terminates,  and  they  separate  with 
as  much  ostentation  as  if  they  had  performed  the  most  heroic  feat.” — Ed. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  195 


the  soople  below  his  jacket,  concealing  it  from  view,  with  the 
cunning  of  a  thief.  Edging  up  to  Becca,  and  uncovering  the 
end  of  the  weapon,  it  was  seized  upon  by  her  with  avidity. 
She  flourished  it  in  the  air,  and  plied  it  with  such  effect, 
about  the  cars  of  her  adversaries,  that  they  were  speedily 
driven  off  the  field,  with  “sarks  full  of  sore  bones.”  In  this 
furious  manner  would  the  friendly  meetings  of  the  Gipsies 
frequently  terminate.* 

So  formidable  were  the  numbers  of  the  nomadic  Gipsies, 
at  one  time,  and  so  alarming  their  desperate  and  sanguinary 
battles,  in  the  upper  parts  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale, 
that  the  fencible  men  in  their  neighbourhood,  (the  country¬ 
side  was  the  expression,)  had  sometimes  to  turn  out  to  quell 
and  disperse  them.  A  clergyman  was,  on  one  occasion,  un¬ 
der  the  necessity  of  dismissing  his  congregation,  in  the 
middle  of  divine  service,  that  they  might  quell  one  of  these 
furious  Gipsy  tumults,  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the 
church.f 


*  It  is  astonishing  how  trifling  a  circumstance  will  sometimes  set  such 
Gipsies  by  the  ears.  In  England,  they  will  frequently  “  cast  up”  the  history 
of  their  respective  families  on  such  occasions.  “  What,  was  your  father.  I 
would  like  to  know  ?  He  hadn’t  even  an  ass  to  carry  his  traps,  and  was  a 

rogue  at  that,  you - Gipsy.  My  father  was  an  honest  man.’  ’“  Honest 

man  ?” — “  Yes,  honest  man,  and  that’s  more  than  you  can  say  of  your  kin.” 
The  other,  having  more  of  “  the  blood,”  will  taunt  his  acquaintance  with 
some  such  expression  as  “  Gorgio  like,”  (like  the  white.) — “  And  what  are 
you,  you  black  trash?  Will  blood  put  money  in  your  pocket?  Klood, 
indeed  !  I’m  a  better  Gipsy  than  you  are,  in  spite  of  the  black  devil  that 
every  one  sees  in  your  face  !”  Then  the  fray  commences. 

When  Gipsies  take  up  their  quarters  on  the  premises  of  country  people, 
a  very  effectual  way  of  sometimes  getting  rid  of  them  is  to  stir  up  discord 
among  them.  For  when  it  comes  to  “  hammers  and  tongs,”  “  tongs  and 
hammers,”  they  will  scatter,  uttering  howls  of  vengeance,  on  some  more 
appropriate  occasion,  against  their  most  intimate  friends,  who  have  just 
incurred  their  wrath,  yet  who  will  be  seen  “  cheek  by  jowl”  with  them,  per¬ 
haps,  the  next  day,  or  even  before  the  sun  has  gone  down  upon  them  ;  so 
easily  are  they  sometimes  irritated,  and  so  easily  reconciled. — Ed. 

t  A  writer  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine  mentions  that  the  Gipsies,  late  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  broke  into  the  house  of  Pennicuik,  when  the  greater 
part  of  the  family  were  at  church.  Sir  John  Clerk,  the  proprietor,  barri¬ 
caded  himself  in  his  own  apartment,  where  he  sustained  a  sort  of  siege — ■ 
firing  from  the  windows  upon  the  robbers,  who  fired  upon  him  in  return. 
One  of  them,  while  straying  through  the  house  in  quest  of  booty,  happened 
to  ascend  the  stairs  of  a  very  narrow  turret,  but,  slipping  his  foot,  caught 
hold  of  the  rope  of  the  alarm  bell,  the  ringing  of  which  startled  the  congre¬ 
gation  assembled  in  the  parish  church.  They  instantly  came  to  the  rescue 
of  the  Laii  d,  and  succeeded,  it  is  said,  in  apprehending  some  of  the  Gipsies, 


196 


A  BISTORT  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


About  the  year  1770,  the  mother  of  the  Baillies  received 
some  personal  injury,  or  rather  insult,  at  a  fair  at  Biggar, 
from  a  gardener  of  the  name  of  John  Cree.  The  insult  was 
instantly  resented  by  the  Gipsies  ;  but  Cree  was  luckily 
protected  by  his  friends.  In  contempt  and  defiance  of  the 
whole  multitude  in  the  market,  four  of  the  Baillies — Mat¬ 
thew,  James,  William,  and  John — all  brothers,  appeared  on 
liorsc-baek,  dressed  in  scarlet,  and  armed  with  broad-swords, 
and,  parading  through  the  crowd,  threatened  to  be 
avenged  of  the  gardener,  and  those  who  had  assisted  him. 
Burning  with  revenge,  they  threw  off  their  coats,  rolled  up 
the  sleeves  of  their  shirts  to  the  shoulder,  like  butchers  when 
at  work,  and,  with  their  naked  and  brawny  arms,  and  glitter¬ 
ing  swords  in  their  clenched  hands,  furiously  rode  up  and 
down  the  fair,  threatening  death  to  all  who  should  oppose 
them.  Their  bare  arms,  naked  weapons,  and  resolute  looks, 
showed  that  they  were  prepared  to  slaughter  their  enemies 
without  mercy.  No  one  dared  to  interfere  with  them,  till 
the  minister  of  the  parish  appeased  their  rage,  and  persuaded 
them  to  deliver  up  their  swords.  It  was  found  absolutely 
necessary,  however,  to  keep  a  watch  upon  the  gardener’s 
house,  for  six  months  after  the  occurrence,  to  protect  him 
and  his  family  from  the  vengeance  of  the  vindictive  Gipsies. 

To  bring  into  view  and  illustrate  the  character  and  practices 
of  our  Scottish  Gipsies,  I  will  transcribe  the  following  de¬ 
tails,  in  the  original  words,  from  a  MS.  which  I  received 
from  the  late  Mr.  Blackwood,  as  a  contribution  towards  a 
history  of  the  Gipsies.  Mr.  Blackwood  did  not  say  who  the 
writer  of  the  paper  was,  but  some  one  mentioned  to  me  that 
he  was  a  clergyman.  I  am  satisfied  that  the  statements  it 
contains  are  true,  and  that  the  William  Baillie  therein  men¬ 
tioned  was,  in  his  day  and  generation,  well  known,  over  the 
greater  part  of  Scotland,  as  chief  of  his  tribe  within  the 
kingdom.  He  was  the  grandfather  of  the  four  Gipsies  who, 
as  just  mentioned,  set  at  defiance  the  whole  multitude  at 
Biggar  fair.  It  will  be  seen,  by  this  MS.,  that  while  the 
principal  Gipsies,  with  their  subordinates,  were  plundering 
the  public,  in  all  directions,  they  sometimes  performed  acts 
of  gratitude  and  great  kindness  to  their  favourites  of  the 
community  among  whom  they  travelled.  In  it  will  also  be 

who  were  executed.  There  is  a  written  account  of  this  daring  assault  kept 
in  the  records  of  the  family. — Ed. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSIES.  197 


exhibited  the  cool  and  business-like  manner  in  which  they 
delivered  back  stolen  purses,  when  circumstances  rendered 
such  restoration  necessary. 

“  There  was  formerly  a  gang  of  Gipsies,  or  pick-pockets, 
who  used  to  frequent  the  fairs  in  Dumfries-shire,  headed  by 
a  William  Baillie,  or  Will  Baillie,  as  the  country-people 
were  accustomed  to  call  him,  of  whom  the  old  men  used  to 
tell  many  stories. 

“  Before  any  considerable  fair,  if  the  gang  were  at  a  dis¬ 
tance  from  the  place  where  it  was  to  be  held,  whoever  of 
them  were  appointed  to  go,  went  singly,  or,  at  most,  never 
above  two  travelled  together.  A  day  or  so  after,  Mr.  Baillie 
himself  followed,  mounted  like  a  nobleman  ;  and,  as  journeys, 
in  those  days,  were  almost  all  performed  on  horseback,  he 
sometimes  rode,  for  many  miles,  with  gentlemen  of  the  first 
respectability  in  the  country.  And,  as  he  could  discourse 
readily  and  fluently  on  almost  any  topic,  he  was  often  taken 
to  be  some  country  gentleman  of  property,  as  his  dress  and 
manners  seemed  to  indicate. 

“  Once,  in  a  very  crowded  fair  at  Dumfries,  an  honest  far¬ 
mer,  from  the  parish  of  Hatton,  in  Annandale,  had  his  pocket 
picked  of  a  considerable  sum,  in  gold,  with  which  he  was 
going  to  buy  cattle.  On  discovering  his  loss,  he  immediately 
went  and  got  a  purse  like  the  one  he  had  lost,  into  which  he 
put  a  good  numbor  of  small  stones,  and,  going  into  a  crowded 
part  of  the  fair,  he  kept  a  watchful  eye  on  his  pocket,  and,  in 
a  little  'while,  he  caught  a  fellow  in  the  very  act  of  picking 
it.  The  farmer,  who  was  a  stout,  athletic  man,  did  not  wish 
to  make  any  noise,  as  he  knew  a  more  ready  way  of  recover¬ 
ing  his  money  ;  but  whispered  to  the  fellow,  while  he  still 
kept  fast  hold  of  him,  to  come  out  of  the  throng  a  little,  as 
he  wanted  to  speak  to  him.  There  he  told  him  that  he  had 
lost  his  money,  and  that,  if  lie  would  get  it  to  him  again,  he 
would  let  him  go  ;  if  not,  he  would  have  him  put  in  jail  im¬ 
mediately.  The  pick-pocket  desired  him  to  come  along  with 
him,  and  he  ■would  see  what  could  be  done,  the  farmer  still 
keeping  close  to  him,  lest  he  should  escape.  They  entered 
an  obscure  house,  in  an  unfrequented  close,  where  they  found 
Mr.  Baillie  sitting.  The  farmer  told  his  tale,  concluding 
with  a  promise  that,  as  the  loss  of  the  money  would  hurt 
him  very  much,  he  would,  if  he  could  get  it  back  again, 
make  no  more  ado  about  it.  On  which,  Mr.  Baillie  went  to 


198 


A  ms  TORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


a  concealment  in  the  wall,  and  brought  out  the  very  purse 
the  farmer  had  lost,  with  the  contents  untouched,  which  he 
returned  to  the  farmer,  who  received  it  with  much  gratitude. 

“  The  farmer,  after  doing  his  business  in  the  fair,  got  a 
little  intoxicated  in  the  evening  ;  on  which  he  thought  he 
would  call  ou  Mr  Baillie,  and  give  him  a  treat,  for  his  kind¬ 
ness  in  restoring  his  purse  ;  but  on  entering  the  house,  the 
woman  who  kept  it,  a  poor  widow,  fell  on  him  and  abused 
him  sadly,  asking  him  what  he  had  done  to  cause  Mr. 
Stewart,  by  which  name  she  knew  Mr.  Baillie,  to  leave  her 
house  ;  and  saying  she  had  lost  the  best  friend  that  ever  she 
had,  for  always  when  he  stayed  a  day  or  two  in  her  house, 
(which  he  used  to  do  twice  a  year,)  he  gave  her  as  much  as 
paid  her  half-year’s  rent ;  but  after  he,  (the  farmer,)  called 
that  day,  Mr.  Stewart,  she  said,  left  her  house,  telling  her  he 
could  not  stay  with  her  any  longer  ;  but  before  he  went,  she 
said,  he  had  given  her  what  was  to  pay  her  half-year’s  rent, 
a  resource,  she  lamented,  she  would  lose  in  future.  About 
two  years  afterwards,  the  farmer  again  had  the  curiosity  to 
call  on  her,  and  ask  her  if  her  lodger  had  ever  returned. 
She  said  he  never  had,  but  that,  ever  since,  a  stranger  had 
called  regularly,  and  given  her  money  to  pay  her  rent. 

“  In  the  parish  of  Kirkmichael,  about  eight  miles  from 
Dumfries,  lived  a  widow  who  occupied  a  small  farm.  As 
she  had  a  number  of  young  children,  and  no  man  to  assist 
her,  she  fell  behind  in  paying  her  rent,  and  at  last  got  a 
summons  of  removal.  She  had  a  kiln  that  stood  at  a  con¬ 
siderable  distance  from  the  other  houses,  which  was  much 
frequented  by  Baillie’s  people,  when  they  came  that  way  ; 
and  she  gave  them,  at  all  times,  peaceable  possession,  as  she 
had  no  person  to  contend  with  them,  or  put  them  away,  and 
she  herself  did  not  wish  to  differ  with  them.  They,  on  the 
other  hand,  never  molested  anything  she  had.  One  even¬ 
ing,  a  number  of  them  arrived  rather  late,  and  went  into  the 
kiln,  as  usual ;  after  which,  one  came  into  the  house,  to  ask 
a  few  peats,  to  make  a  fire.  She  gave  the  peats,  saying  she 
believed  they  would  soon  have  to  shift  their  quarters,  as  she 
herself  was  warned  to  flit,  and  she  did  not  know  if  the  next 
tenant  would  allow  them  such  quiet  possession,  and  she  did 
not  know  what  would  become  of  herself  and  her  helpless 
family.  Nothing  more  was  said,  but,  after  having  put  her 
children  to  bed,  as  she  was  sitting  by  the  fire,  in  a  disconso- 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  199 


late  manner,  she  heard  a  gentle  tap  at  the  door.  On  open¬ 
ing  it,  a  genteel,  well-dressed  man  entered,  who  told  her  he 
just  wished  to  speak  with  her  for  a  few  minutes,  and,  sitting 
down,  said  he  had  heard  she  was  warned  to  remove,  and 
asked  how  much  she  was  behind.  She  told  him  exactly. 
On  which,  rising  hastily,  he  slipt  a  purse  into  her  hand,  and 
went  out  before  she  could  say  a  single  word. 

“  The  widow,  however,  kept  the  farm,  paid  off  all  old 
debts,  and  brought  up  her  family  decently  ;  but  still,  it 
grieved  her  that  she  did  not  know  who  was  her  benefactor. 
She  never  told  any  person  till  about  ten  years  afterwards, 
when  she  told  a  friend  who  came  to  see  her,  when  she 
was  rather  poorly  in  health.  After  hearing  the  story,  he 
asked  her  what  sort  of  a  man  he  was  who  gave  her  the 
money.  She  said  their  interview  was  so  short,  and  it  was 
so  long  past,  that  she  could  recollect  little  of  him,  but  only 
remembered  well  that  he  had  the  scar  of  a  cut  across  his 
nose.  On  which,  her  friend  immediately  exclaimed,  ‘  Then 
Will  Baillie  was  the  man.’ 

“  Before  the  year  1740,  the  roads  were  bad  through  all 
the  country.  Carts  were  not  then  in  use,  and  all  the  mer¬ 
chants’  goods  were  conveyed  in  packs,  on  horseback. 
Among  others,  the  farmers  on  the  water  of  Ae,  in  Dum- 
fries-shire,  were  almost  all  pack-carriers.  As  there  was  lit¬ 
tle  improvement  of  land  then,  they  had  little  to  do  at  home, 
and  so  they  made  their  rents  mostly  by  carrying.  Among 
others,  there  was  an  uncle  of  my  father,  whose  name  was 
Robert  McYitie,  who  used  to  be  a  great  carrier.  This  man, 
once,  in  returning  from  Edinburgh,  stopt  at  Broughton,  and 
in  coming  out  of  the  stable,  he  met  a  man,  who  asked  him 
if  he  knew  him.  Robert,  after  looking  at  him  for  a  little, 
said :  ‘  I  think  you  are  Mr.  Baillie.’  He  said,  I  am,  and 
asked  if  Robert  could  lend  him  two  guineas,  and  it  should 
be  faithfully  repaid.  As  there  were  few  people  who  wished 
to  differ  with  Baillie,  Robert  told  him  he  was  welcome  to 
two  guineas,  or  more  if  he  wanted  it.  He  said  that  would 
just  do  ;  on  which  Robert  gave  them  to  him,  and  he  put  them 
into  his  pocket.  Baillie  then  asked,  if  ever  lie  was  molested 
by  any  person,  when  he  was  travelling  late  with  his  packs. 
He  said  he  never  was,  although  he  was  sometimes  a  little 
afraid.  Baillie  then  gave  him  a  kind  of  brass  token,  about 
the  size  of  a  half-crown,  with  some  marks  upon  it,  which  he 


200 


A  BISTORT  OF  TBE  GIPSIES. 


desired  him  to  carry  in  his  parse,  and  it  might  be  of  use 
to  him  some  time,  as  he  was  to  show  it,  if  any  person  offered 
to  rob  him.  Baillie  then  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  off. 

“  Some  considerable  time  after  this,  as  Robert  was  one 
evening  travelling  with  his  packs,  between  Elvanfoot  and 
Moffat,  two  men  came  up  to  him,  whom  he  thought  very 
suspicious-looking  fellows.  As  he  was  a  stout  man  himself, 
and  carried  a  good  cudgel,  he  kept  on  the  alert  for  a  con¬ 
siderable  way,  lest  they  should  take  him  by  surprise.  At 
last,  one  of  them  asked  him  if  he  was  not  afraid  to  travel 
alone,  so  late  at  night.  He  said  he  was  under  a  necessity 
to  be  out  late,  sometimes,  on  his  lawful  business.  But  recol¬ 
lecting-  his  token,  he  said  a  gentleman  had  once  given  him 
a  piece  of  brass,  to  show,  if  ever  any  person  troubled  him. 
They  desired  him  to  show  it,  as  it  was  moonlight.  He  gave 
it  to  them.  Oh  seeing  it,  they  looked  at  one  another,  and 
then,  whispering  a  few  words,  told  him  it  was  well  for  him 
he  had  the  token,  which  they  returned  ;  and  they  left  him 
directly. 

“  After  a  lapse  of  nearly  two  years,  when  he  had  almost 
forgotten  his  two  guineas,  as  he  was  one  morning  loading 
his  packs,  at  the  door  of  a  public-house,  near  Gretna-green, 
he  felt  some  person  touch  him  behind,  and,  on  looking 
round,  saw  it  was  Mr.  Baillie,  who  slipped  something  into 
his  hand,  wrapped  in  paper,  and  left  him,  without  speaking 
a  single  word.  On  opening  the  paper,  he  found  three 
guineas,  which  was  his  own  money,  and  a  guinea  for  in¬ 
terest. 

“  There  was  another  gang  of  Gipsies  that  stayed  mostly 
in  Annandale,  headed  by  a  Jock  Johnstone,  as  he  was  called 
in  the  country.  These  were  counted  a  kind  of  lower  caste 
than  Baillie’s  people,  who  would  have  thought  themselves 
degraded  if  they  had  associated  with  any  of  the  Johnstone 
gang.  Johnstone  confined  his  travels  mostly  to  Dumfries¬ 
shire  ;  while  Baillie  went  over  all  Scotland,  and  even  made 
long  excursions  into  England.  Johnstone  kept  a  great 
many  women  about  him,*  several  of  whom  had  children  to 
him  ;  and,  in  kilns  and  in  barns,  Johnstone  always  slept  in 
the  middle  of  the  whole  gang.  Baillie  sometimes  told  his 

*  A  great  many  of  the  inferior  Gipsy  chiefs  travelled  with  a  number  of 
women  in  their  company  ;  such  as  George  Drummond,  Doctor  Duds,  John 
Lundie,  and  others. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  201 


select  friends  that  he  had  a  wife,  but  never  any  of  them 
could  find  out  where  she  stayed  ;  and  as  he  used  to  disap¬ 
pear  now  and  then,  for  a  considerable  time  together,  it  was 
supposed  he  was  with  her.  He  never  slept,  in  barn  or  kiln, 
with  any  of  his  people.  Johnstone  travelled  all  day  in  the 
midst  of  a  crowd  of  women  and  children,  mounted  on  asses. 
Daillie  travelled  always  by  himself,  mounted  on  the  best 
horse  he  could  get  for  money. 

“  Some  time  in  the  year  1739,  Johnstone,  with  a  number  of 
his  women,  came/  to  the  house  of  one  Margaret  Farish,  an 
old  woman  who  sold  ale  at  Lonegate,  six  miles  from  Dum¬ 
fries,  on  the  Edinburgh  road.  After  drinking  for  a  long 
time,  some  of  Jock’s  wives  and  the  old  woman  quarrelled. 
On  which  he  took  up  the  pewter  pint-stoup,  with  which  she 
measured  her  ale,  and,  giving  her  two  or  three  severe  blows 
on  the  head,  killed  her  on  the  spot.  Next  day  he  was  ap¬ 
prehended  near  Lockerby,  and  brought  into  Dumfries’ jail. 
He  had  a  favourite  tame  jack-daw  that  he  took  with  him  in 
all  his  travels,  and  he  desired  it  might  be  brought  to  stay 
with  him  in  the  jail,  which  was  done.  When  the  lords  were 
coming  into  the  circuit,  as  they  passed  the  jail,  the  trumpet¬ 
ers  gave  a  blast,  on  which  the  jack-daw  gave  a  flutter 
against  the  iron  bars  of  the  window,  and  dropped  down  dead. 
When  Jock  saw  that,  he  immediately  exclaimed:  ‘Lord 
have  mercy  on  me,  for  I  am  gone.’  He  was  accordingly 
tried  and  condemned.  When  the  day  of  execution  came,  he 
would  not  walk  to  the  scaffold,  and  so  they  were  forced  to 
carry  him.  The  executioner,  being  an  old  man,  could  not 
turn  him  over.  Several  of  the  constables  refused  to  touch 
him.  At  last,  one  of  the  burgh  officers  turned  him  off ;  but 
the  old  people  about  Dumfries  used  to  say  that  the  officer 
never  prospered  any  more  after  that  day.”* 

*  Dr.  Alexander  Carlyle,  in  a  note  to  his  autobiography,  mentions  hav¬ 
ing  seen  this  Jock  Johnstone  hanged.  The  date  given  by  him  (1783),  dif¬ 
fers,  however,  from  that  mentioned  above.  According  to  him,  Johnstone 
was  but  twenty  years  of  age,  but  bold,  and  a  great  ringleader,  and  was  con¬ 
demned  for  robbery,  and  being  accessory  to  a  murder.  The  usual  place  of 
execution  was  a  moor,  adjoining  the  town  ;  but,  as  it  was  strongly  reported 
that  the  “  thieves”  were  collecting  from  all  quarters,  to  rescue  the  criminal 
from  the  gallows,  the  magistrates  erecled  the  scaffold  in  front  of  the  prison, 
with  a  platform  connecting,  and  surrounded  it  with  about  a  hundred  of  the 
stoutest  burgesses,  armed  with  Lochaber  axes.  Jock  made  h:s  appearance, 
surrounded  by  six  officers.  lie  was  curly-haired,  and  fierce-looking,  about 
five  feet  eight  inches  in  height,  and  very  strong  of  his  size.  At  first  he  ap- 

9* 


202 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  extraordinary  man  Baillie,  who  is  here  so  often  men¬ 
tioned,  was  well  known  in  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale  ;  and 
my  great-grandfather,  who  knew  him  well,  used  to  say  that 
he  was  the  handsomest,  the  best  dressed,  the  best  looking, 
and  the  best  bred  man  he  ever  saw.  As  I  have  already 
mentioned,  he  generally  rode  one  of  the  best  horses  the 
kingdom  could  produce ;  himself  attired  in  the  finest  scar¬ 
let,  with  his  greyhounds  following  him,  as  if  he  had  been  a 
man  of  the  first  rank.  With  the  usual  Gipsy  policy,  he  re¬ 
presented  himself  as  a  bastard  son  of  one  of  the  Baillies  of 
Lamington,  his  mother  being  a  Gipsy.  On  this  account,  con¬ 
siderable  attention  was  paid  to  him  by  the  country -people  ; 
indeed,  he  was  taken  notice  of  by  the  first  in  the  land.  But, 
from  his  singular  habits,  his  real  character  at  last  became 
well  known.  He  acted  the  character  of  the  gentleman,  the 
robber,  the  sorner,  and  the  tinker,  whenever  it  answered 
his  purpose.  He  was  considered,  in  his  time,  the  best 
swordsman  in  all  Scotland.  With  this  weapon  in  his  hand, 
and  his  back  at  a  wall,  he  set  almost  everything,  saving  fire¬ 
arms,  at  defiance.  His  sword  is  still  preserved  by  his 
descendants,  as  a  relic  of  their  powerful  ancestor.  The 
stories  that  are  told  of  this  splendid  Gipsy  are  numerous  and 
interesting.  I  will  relate  only  two  well-authenticated  anec¬ 
dotes  of  this  baurie  rajah,  this  king  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  ; 
who  was,  in  all  probability,  a  descendant  of  Towla  Bailyow, 
who,  with  other  Gipsies,  rebelled  against,  and  plundered, 
John  Faw,  “  Lord  and  Earl  of  Little  Egypt,”  in  the  reign  of 
James  V.  The  following  transaction  of  his  has  some  re¬ 
semblance  to  a  custom  among  the  Arabians. 

peared  astonished,  but,  looking  around  awhile,  proceeded  with  a  bold  step. 
Psalms  and  prayers  being  over,  and  the  rope  fastened  about  his  neck,  he 
was  ordered  to  mount  a  short  ladder,  attached  to  the  gallows,  in  order  to 
be  thrown  off ;  when  he  immediately  seized  the  rope,  and  pulled  so  vio¬ 
lently  at  it  as  to  be  in  danger  of  bringing  down  the  gallows — causing  much 
emotion  among  the  crowd,  and  fear  among  the  magistrates.  Jock,  becom¬ 
ing  furious,  like  a  wild  beast,  struggled  and  roared,  and  defied  the  six  offi¬ 
cers  to  bind  him  ;  and,  recovering  the  use  of  his  arms,  became  more  formid¬ 
able.  The  magistrates  then  with  difficulty  prevailed  on  by  far  the  strongest 
man  in  Dumfries,  for  the  honour  of  the  town,  to  come  on  the  scaffold. 
Putting  aside  the  six  officers,  this  man  seized  the  criminal,  with  as  little 
difficulty  as  a  nurse  handles  her  child,  and  in  a  few  minutes  bound  him 
hand  and  foot ;  and  quietly  laying  him  down  on  his  face,  near  the  edge 
of  the  scaffold,  retired.  Jock,  the  moment  he  felt  his  grasp,  found  himself 
subdued,  and,  becoming  calm,  resigned  himself  to  his  fate. — Carlyle's  Au- 
tubiograpli  y.  — Ed. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSLES.  203 


William,  with  his  numerous  horde,  happened  to  fall  in 
with  a  travelling  packman,  on  a  wild  spot  between  Hawk- 
sliaw  and  Menzion,  near  the  source  of  the  Tweed.  The  pack¬ 
man  was  immediately  commanded  to  halt,  and  lay  his  packs 
upon  the  ground.  Baillie  then  unsheathed  his  broadsword, 
with  which  he  was  always  armed,  and,  with  the  point  of  the 
weapon,  drew,  on  the  ground,  a  circle  around  the  trembling 
packman  and  his  wares.  Within  this  circle  no  one  of  the 
tribe  was  allowed  by  him  to  enter  but  himself.*  The  poor 
man  was  now  ordered  to  unbuckle  his  packs,  and  exhibit  his 
merchandise  to  the  Gipsies.  Baillie,  without  the  least  cere¬ 
mony,  .helped  himself  to  some  of  the  most  valuable  things  in 
the  pack,  and  gave  a  great  many  to  the  members  of  his  band. 
The  unfortunate  merchant,  well  aware  of  the  character  of 
his  customers,  concluded  himself  a  ruined  man  ;  and,  in  place 
of  making  any  resistance,  handed  away  his  property  to  the 
Gipsies.  But  when  they  were  satisfied,  he  was  most  agree¬ 
ably  surprised  by  Baillie  taking  out  his  purse,  and  paying 
him,  on  the  spot,  a  great  deal  more  than  the  value  of  every 
article  he  had  taken  for  himself  and  given  to  his  band.  The 
delighted  packman  failed  not  to  extol,  wherever  he  went, 
the  gentlemanly  conduct  and  extraordinary  liberality  of 
“  Captain  Baillie” — a  title  by  which  he  was  known  all  over 
the  country. 

The  perilous  situations  in  which  Baillie  was  often  placed 
did  not  repress  the  merry  jocularity  and  sarcastic  wit  which 
he,  in  common  with  many  of  his  tribe,  possessed.  He  sometimes 
almost  bearded  and  insulted  the  judge  while  sitting  on  the 
bench.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  when  he  was  in  court, 
the  judge,  provoked  at  seeing  him  so  often  at  the  bar,  ob¬ 
served  to  him  that  he  would  assuredly  get  his  ears  cut  out 
of  his  head,  if  he  did  not  mend  his  manners,  and  abandon 
his  way  of  life.  “  That  I  defy  you  to  do,  my  lord,”  replied 
the  Tinkler.  The  judge,  perceiving  that  his  ears  had  al¬ 
ready  been  “nailed  to  the  tron,  and  cut  off,”  and  being  dis¬ 
pleased  at  the  effrontery  and  levity  of  his  conduct,  told  him 

*  Bruce,  in  his  travels,  when  speaking  of  the  protection  afforded  by  the 
Arabs  to  shipwrecked  Christians,  on  the  coasts  of  the  lied  Sea,  says : — 
“  the  Arabian,  with  his  lance,  draws  a  circle  large  enough  to  hold  you  and 
yours.  lie  then  slrikes  his  lance  in  the  sand,  and  bids  you  abide  within  the 
circle.  You  are  thus  as  safe,  on  the  desert  coast  of  Arabia,  as  in  a  citadel ; 
there  is  no  example  or  exception  to  the  contrary  that  has  ever  been  known.” 
— Bruce’s  7'ravels  in  Abyssinia. 


204 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


that  lie  -was  certainly  a  great  villain.  “  I  am  not  such  a 
villain  as  your  lordship,”  retorted  Baillie.  “  What  do  you 
say  ?”  rejoined  the  judge,  in  great  surprise  at  the  bold  man¬ 
ner  of  the  criminal.  “  I  say,”  continued  the  Gipsy,  “  that  I 

am  not  such  a  villain  as  your  lordship - takes  me  to  be.” 

“William,”  quoth  the  judge,  “put  your  words  closer  to¬ 
gether,  otherwise  you  shall  have  cause  to  repent  of  your  in¬ 
solence  and  audacity.”* 

Tradition  states  that  William  Baillie’s  conduct  involved 
him  in  numerous  scrapes.  He  was  brought  before  the  Jus¬ 
ticiary  Court,  and  had  “his  ears  nailed  to  the  tron,  or  other 
tree,  and  cut  off,  and  banished  the  country,”  for  his  many 
crimes  of  “  sorning,  pickery,  and  little  thieving.”  It  also 
appears,  from  popular  tradition,  that  he  is  the  same  William 
Baillie  who  is  repeatedly  noticed  by  Hume  and  McLaurin, 
in  their  remarks  on  the  criminal  law  of  Scotland. 

In  June,  1699,  William  Baillie,  for  being  an  Egyptian,  and 
for  forging  and  using  a  forged  pass,  was  sentenced  to  be 
“  hanged  •  but  the  privy  council  commuted  his  sentence  to 
banishment,  but  under  the  express  condition  that,  if  ever  he 
returned  to  this  country,  the  former  sentence  should  be  exe¬ 
cuted  against  him.”  William  entered  into  a  bond  with  the 
privy  council,  under  the  penalty  of  500  merks,  to  leave  the 
kingdom,  and  to  “  suffer  the  pains  of  death,  in  case  of  con¬ 
travention  thereof.” 

This  Gipsy  chief  paid  little  regard  to  the  terrible  conditions 
of  his  bond,  in  case  of  failure  ;  for,  on  the  10th  and  11th  Au¬ 
gust,  1714,  “  Baillie,”  says  Hume,  “  and  two  of  his  associates, 
were  convicted  and  condemned  to  die  ;  but  as  far  as  con¬ 
cerned  Baillie,  (for  the  others  were  executed,)  his  doom  was 
afterwards  mitigated  into  transportation,  under  pain  of  death 
in  case  of  return.”  “The  jury,”  says  McLaurin,  “brought 
in  a  special  verdict  as  to  the  sorning, f  but  said  nothing  at 

*  It  might  be  supposed  that  the  pride  of  a  Gipsy  would  have  the  good 
effect  of  rendering  him  cautious  not  to  be  guilty  of  such  crimes  as  subject 
him  to  public  shame.  But  here  his  levity  of  character  is  rendered  conspic¬ 
uous  ;  for  he  never  looks  to  the  right  or  to  the  left  in  his  transactions ; 
and  though  his  conceit  and  pride  are  somewhat  humbled,  during  the  time 
of  punishment,  and  while  the  consequent  pain  lasts  ;  these  being  over,  he 
no  longer  remembers  his  disgrace,  but  entertains  quite  as  good  an  opinion 
of  himself  as  before. — Grellmami  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. — Ed. 

f  Sorti,  (Scottish  and  Irish  :)  an  arbitrary  exaction,  by  which  a  chieftain 
lived  at  pleasure,  in  free  quarters,  among  his  tenants :  also  one  who  obtrudes 
himself  upon  another,  for  bed  and  board,  is  said  to  sorn. — Bailey. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES. 


205 


nil  as  to  any  other  points  ;  all  they  found  proved  was,  that 
William,  in  March,  1713,  had  taken  possession  of  a  barn, 
without  consent  of  the  owner,  and  that,  during  his  abode  in 
it,  there  was  corn  taken  out  of  the  barn,  and  he  went  away 
without  paying  anything  for  his  quarters,  or  for  any  corn 
during  his  abode,  which  was  for  several  days  ;  and  that  he 
was  habit  and  repute  an  Egyptian,  and  did  wear  a  pistol* 
and  shable ,”  (a  kind  of  sabre.) 

“As  early  as  the  month  of  August,  1715,  the  same  man, 
as  I  understand  it,”  says  Baron  Hume,  “  was  again  indicted, 
not  only  for  being  found  in  Britain,  but  for  continuing  his 
former  practices  and  course  of  life.  Notwithstanding  this 
aggravation,  the  interlocutor  is  again  framed  on  the  indul¬ 
gent  plan  ;  and  only  infers  the  pain  of  death  from  the  fame 
and  character  of  being  an  Egyptian,  joined  with  various  acts 
of  violence  and  sorning,  to  the  number  of  three  that  are 
stated  in  the  libel.  Though  convicted  nearly  to  the  extent 
of  the  interlocutor,  he  again  escaped  with  transportation.” 

Baillie’s  policy  in  representing  himself  as  a  bastard  son  of 
an  ancient  and  honourable  family  had,  as  I  have  already  ob¬ 
served,  been  of  great  service  to  him  ;  and  in  no  way  would 
it  be  more  so  than  in  his  various  trials.  It  is  almost  certain, 
as  in  cases  of  more  recent  times,  that  great  interest  would 
be  used  to  save  a  bastard  branch  of  an  honourable  house 
from  an  ignominious  death  upon  the  scaffold,  when  his  crimes 
amounted  only  to  “  sorning,  pickery,  and  little  thieving,  and 
habit  and  repute  an  Egyptian. ”t 

*  A  great  many  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  in  former  times,  carried  arms. 
One  of  the  Baillies  once  left  his  budget  in  a  house,  by  mistake.  A  person, 
whom  I  knew,  had  the  curiosity  to  examine  it ;  and  he  found  it  to  contain  a 
pair  of  excellent  pistols,  loaded  and  ready  for  action. 

f  What  our  author  says  of  “  the  usual  Gipsy  policy  of  making  the  people 
believe  that  they  are  descended  from  families  of  rank  and  influence  in  the 
country,”  (page  154,)  and  that  “the  greater  part  of  them  will  tell  you  that 
they  are  sprung  from  a  bastard  son  of  this  or  that  noble  famdy,  or  other 
person  of  rank  and  influence,  of  their  own  surname,”  (117.)  is  doubtless 
true  as  a  rule;  but  there  were  as  likely  cases  of  what  the  Gipsies  assert, 
aud  that  Gipsy  women,  “  in  some  instances,  bore  children  to  some  of  the 
‘  unspotted  gentlemen’  mentioned  by  act  of  parliament  as  having  so  greatly 
protected  and  entertained  the  tribe,”  (114,)  and  that  Baillie  was  one  of 
them,  (121  and  183.)  If  Baillie  had  been  following  the  occupation,  and 
bearing  the  reputation,  of  an  ordinary  native  of  Scotland,  there  would  have 
been  some  chance  “  that  great  interest  would  be  used  to  save  a  bastard 
branch  of  an  honourable  house  from  an  ignominious  death  upon  the  scaf¬ 
fold,”  for  almost  any  offence  he  had  committed,  but  not  for  one  who  was 
guilty  of  “  sorning,  pickery,  and  little  thieving,  and  habit  and  repute  an 


206 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


The  descendants  of  William  Baillie  state  that  he  was 
married  to  a  woman  of  the  name  of  Rachel  Johnstone  ;  and 
that  he  was  killed,  in  a  scuffle,  by  a  Gipsy  of  the  name  of 
Pinkerton,  in  a  quarrel  among  themselves.  Baillie  being 
quite  superior  in  personal  strength  to  Pinkerton,  his  wife 
took  hold  of  him,  for  fear  of  his  destroying  his  opponent, 
and,  while  he  was  in  her  arms,  Pinkerton  ran  him  through 
with  his  sword.  Upon  his  death,  his  son,  then  a  youth  of 
thirteen  years  of  age,  took  a  solemn  oath,  on  the  spot,  that 
he  would  never  rest  until  the  blood  of  his  father  should  be 
avenged.  And,  true  to  his  oath,  his  mother  and  himself  fol¬ 
lowed  the  track  of  the  murderer  over  Scotland,  England, 
and  Ireland,  like  staunch  bloodhounds,  and  rested  not,  till 
Pinkerton  was  apprehended,  tried,  and  executed. 

The  following  particulars,  relative  to  the  slaughter  of  Wil¬ 
liam  Baillie,  were  published  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  but 
apparently  without  any  knowledge,  on  the  part  of  the  writer, 
of  that  individual’s  history,  further  than  that  he  was  a 
Gipsy. 

“In  a  precognition,  taken  in  March,  1725,  by  Sir  James 
Stewart,  of  Coltness,  and  Captain  Lockhart,  of  Kirkton,  two 
of  his  majesty’s  justices  of  the  peace  for  Lanarkshire,  anent 
the  murder  of  William  Baillie,  brazier*  commonly  called 
Gipsy,  the  following  evidence  is  adduced : — John  Meikle, 
wright,  declares,  that,  upon  the  twelfth  of  November  last,  he, 
being  in  the  house  of  Thomas  Riddle,  in  Newarthill,  with 
some  others,  the  deceased,  William  Baillie,  James  Kairns, 
and  David  Pinkerton,  were  in  another  room,  drinking,  where, 
after  some  high  words,  and  a  confused  noise  and  squabble, 
the  said  three  persons,  above-named,  went  all  out ;  and  the 
declarant,  knowing  them  to  be  three  of  those  idle  sorners 
that  pass  in  the  country  under  the  name  of  Gipsies,  in  hopes 
they  were  gone  off,  rose,  and  went  to  the  door,  to  take  the 
air  ;  where,  to  his  surprise,  he  saw  William  Baillie  standing, 

Egyptian.”  There  was  doubtless  a  connexion,  in  Gipsy  blood,  between  Baillie 
and  his  influential  friends  who  saved  him  and  his  relatives  so  often  from 
the  gallows. — See  Baillies  of  Lartiinglon  and  McLaurin's  Criminal  Trials, 
in  the  Index. — Ed. 

*  On  some  of  the  tombstones  of  the  Gipsies,  the  word  “  brazier  ’  is 
added  to  their  names.  [Brazier  is  a  favourite  name  with  the  Gipsies,  and 
sounds  better  than  tinker.  Southey,  in  his  Life  of  Bunyan,  says :  “  It  is 
stated,  in  a  history  of  Bedfordshire,  that  he  was  bred  to  the  business  of  a 
brazier,  and  worked,  as  a  journeyman,  at  Bedford.” — Er>.] 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  207 


and  Kairns  and  Pinkerton  on  horseback,  with  drawn  swordis 
in  their  hands,  who  both  rushed  upon  the  said  William  Bail- 
lie,  and  struck  him  with  their  swords  ;  whereupon,  the  said 
William  Baillie  fell  down,  crying  out  he  was  gone  ;  upon 
which,  Kairns  and  Pinkerton  rode  off :  That  the  declarant 
helped  to  carry  the  said  William  Baillie  into  the  house, 
where,  upon  search,  he  was  found  to  have  a  great  cut  or 
wound  on  his  head,  and  a  wound  in  his  body,  just  below  the 
slot  of  his  breast :  And  declares,  he,  the  said  William  Bail- 
lie,  died  some  time  after. 

“  Thomas  Riddle,  tenant  and  change-keeper  in  Newart- 
hill,  &c.,  declares,  that  the  deceased,  William  Baillie,  James 
Kairns,  and  David  Pinkerton,  all  idle  sorners,  that  are 
known  in  the  country  by  the  name  of  Gipsies,  came  to  the 
declarant’s,  about  sun-setting,  where,  after  some  stay,  and 
talking  a  jargon  the  declarant  did  not  well  understand ,  they 
fell  a  squabbling,  when  the  declarant  was  in  another  room, 
with  some  other  company  ;  upon  the  noise  of  which,  the  de¬ 
clarant  ran  in  to  them,  where  lie  found  the  said  James  Kairns 
lying  above  the  said  William  Baillie,  whose  nose  the  said 
James  Kairns  had  bitten  with  his  teeth  till  it  bled  ;  upon 
which,  the  declarant  and  his  wife  threatened  to  raise  the 
town  upon  them,  and  get  a  constable  to  carry  them  to 
prison  ;  but  Kairns  and  Pinkerton  called  for  their  horses, 
William  Baillie  saying  he  would  not  go  with  them  :  Declares 
that,  after  the  said  Kairns  and  Pinkerton  had  got  their 
horses,  and  mounted,  they  ordered  the  declarant  to  bring  a 
chopin  of  ale  to  the  door  to  them,  where  William  Baillie  was 
standing,  talking  to  them :  That,  when  the  declarant  had  filled 
about  the  ale,  and  left  them,  thinking  they  were  going  oft’, 
the  declarant’s  wife  went  to  the  door,  where  Kairns  struck 
at  her  with  a  drawn  sword,  to  fright  her  in  ;  upon  which 
she  ran  in  ;  and  thereupon  the  declarant  went  to  the  door, 
where  he  found  the  said  William  Baillie,  lying  with  the 
wounds  upon  him,  mentioned  in  John  Meikle’s  declaration.” 

By  Hume’s  work  on  the  criminal  law,  it  appears  that  the 
trial  of  David  Pinkerton,  with  others  of  his  tribe,  took  place 
on  the  22nd  August,  1726,  for  “  sorning  and  robbery  but 
no  mention  is  made  of  the  murder  of  Baillie ;  yet  it  was 
Baillic’s  relatives  that  pursued  Pinkerton  to  the  gallows. 
Probably  sufficient  evidence  could  not  then  be  adduced  to 
substantiate  the  fact,  being  about  twenty-one  months  after 


208 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  murder  was  committed  ;  and,  besides,  Bailiic  was  himself 
dead  in  law,  having  either  returned  from  banishment,  or 
remained  at  large  in  the  country,  and  so  forfeited  his  life, 
when  he  was  killed  by  Pinkerton,  in  1724.  The  following 
is  part  of  the  interlocutor  pronounced  upon  the  indictment 
of  the  prisoners  :  “  Find  the  said  David  Pinkerton,  alias  Max¬ 
well,  John  Marshal],  and  Helen  Baillie,  alias  Douglass,  or 
any  of  them,  their  being  habit  and  repute  Egyptians,  sorners 
or  masterful  beggars,  in  conjunction  with  said  pannels,  or 
any  of  them,  their  being,  at  the  times  and  places  libelled, 
guilty,  art  and  part,  of  the  fact  of  violence,  theft,  robbery,  or 
attempts  of  robbery  libelled,  or  any  of  the  said  facts  relevant 
to  infer  the  pain  of  death  and  confiscation  of  moveables.” 

William  Baillie  was  succeeded,  in  the  chieftainship,  by 
his  son  Matthew,  who  married  the  celebrated  Mary  Yowston 
or  Yorkston,  and  became  the  leader  of  a  powerful  horde  of 
Gipsies  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  He  frequently  visited  the 
farms  of  my  grandfather,  about  the  year  1770.  It  appears 
that  his  courtship  had  been  after  the  Tartar  manner  ;  for  he 
used  to  say  that  the  toughest  battle  he  ever  fought  was 
that  of  taking,  by  force,  his  bride,  then  a  very  young  girl, 
from  her  mother,  at  the  hamlet  of  Drummelzier.*  This 
Matthew  Baillie  had,  by  Mary  Yorkston,  a  son,  who  was 
also  named  Matthew,  and  who  married  Margaret  Campbell, 
and  had  by  her  a  family  of  remarkably  handsome  and  pretty 
daughters.  Of  this  principal  Gipsy  family,  I  can  trace, 
distinctly,  six  generations  in  descent,  and  have  myself  seen 
the  great-great-great-grand-children  of  the  celebrated  Wil¬ 
liam  Baillie.  Some  of  his  descendants  still  travel  the  coun¬ 
try,  in  the  manner  of  their  ancestors,  and  at  this  moment 
speak  the  Gipsy  language  with  fluency.  Some  of  them, 
however,  are  little  better  than  common  beggars.  There 
were,  at  one  period,  a  captain  and  a  quarter-master  in  the 
army,  belonging  to  the  Baillie  clan  ;  and  another  was  a 
country  surgeon. 

Mary  Yorkston,  above  mentioned,  went  under  the  appella¬ 
tions  of  “  my  lady,”  and  “  the  duchess,”  and  bore  the  title  of 
queen,  among  her  tribe.  She  presided  at  the  celebration  of 

*  The  English  Gipsies  say  that  the  old  mode  of  getting  a  wife  among  the 
tribo  was  to  steal  her.  The  intended  bride  was  nothing  loth,  still  it  was 
necessary  to  steal  her,  while  the  tribe  were  on  the  watch  to  detect  and 
prevent  it. — Ed. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSLES.  209 


their  barbarous  marriages,  and  assisted  at  their  equally 
singular  ceremonies  of  divorce.  What  the  custom  of  this 
queen  of  the  Gipsies  was,  when  in  full  dress,  in  her  youth, 
on  gala  days,  cannot  now  be  easily  known  ;  but  the  following 
is  a  description  of  her  masculine  figure,  and  public  travelling 
apparel,  when  advanced  in  years.  It  was  taken  from  the 
mouth  of  an  aged  and  very  respectable  gentleman,  the  late 
Mr.  David  Stoddart,  at  Bankhead,  near  Queensferry,  who 
had  often  seen  her  in  his  youth  :  She  was  fully  six  feet  in 
stature,  stout  made  in  her  person,  with  very  strongly-marked 
and  harsh  features ;  and  had,  altogether,  a  very  imposing 
aspect  and  manner.  She  wore  a  large  black  beaver-hat, 
tied  down  over  her  ears  with  a  handkerchief,  knotted  below 
her  chin,  in  the  Gipsy  fashion.  Her  upper  garment  was  a 
dark-blue  short  cloak,  somewhat  after  the  Spanish  fashion, 
made  of  substantial  woollen  cloth,  approaching  to  superfine 
in  quality.  The  greater  part  of  her  other  apparel  was  made 
of  dark-blue  camlet  cloth,  with  petticoats  so  short  that  they 
scarcely  reached  to  the  calves  of  her  well-set  legs.  [Indeed, 
all  the  females  among  the  Baillies  wore  petticoats  of  the 
same  length.]  Her  stockings  were  of  dark-blue  worsted, 
flowered  and  ornamented  at  the  ankles  with  scarlet  thread  ; 
and  in  her  shoes  she  displayed  large,  massy,  silver  buckles. 
The  whole  of  her  habiliments  were  very  substantial,  with 
not  a  rag  or  rent  to  be  seen  about  her  person.  [She  was 
sometimes  dressed  in  a  green  gown,  trimmed  with  red 
ribbons.]  Her  outer  petticoat  was  folded  up  round  her 
haunches,  for  a  lap,  with  a  large  pocket  dangling  at  each 
side  ;  and  below  her  cloak  she  carried,  between  her  shoul¬ 
ders,  a  small  flat  pack,  or  pad,  which  contained  her  most 
Valuable  articles.  About  her  person  she  generally  kept  a 
large  clasp-knife,  with  a  long,  broad  blade,  resembling  a  dag¬ 
ger  or  carving-knife ;  and  carried  in  her  hand  a  long  pole 
or  pike-staff,  that  reached  about  a  foot  above  her  head. 

It  was  a  common  practice,  about  the  middle  of  last  cen¬ 
tury,  for  old  female  Gipsies  of  authority  to  strip,  without 
hesitation,  defenceless  individuals  of  their  wearing-apparel 
when  they  met  them  in  sequestered  places.  Mary  York- 
ston  chanced,  on  one  occasion,  to  meet  a  shepherd’s  wife, 
among  the  wild  hills  in  the  parish  of  Stobo,  and  stripped  her 
of  the  whole  of  her  clothes.  The  shepherd  was  horrified  at 
beholding  his  wife  approaching  his  house  in  a  state  of  perfect 


210 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


nakedness.  A  Jean  Gordon  was  once  detected,  by  a  shep¬ 
herd,  stripping  a  female  of  her  wearing-apparel.  He  at  once 
assisted  the  helpless  woman  ;  but  Jean  drew  from  below  her 
garments  a  dagger,  and  threw  it  at  him.  Evading  the  blow, 
the  shepherd  closed  in  upon  her,  and  struck  her  over  the 
head  with  his  staff,  knocking  her  to  the  ground.  Another 
Gipsy  of  the  old  fashion,  of  the  name  of  Esther  Grant,  was 
also  celebrated  for  the  practice  of  stripping  people  of  their 
clothing.  The  Arabian  principle,  expressed  in  these  words, 
on  meeting  a  stranger  in  the  desert,  “  Undress  thyself — my 
wife,  (thy  aunt,)  is  in  want  of  a  garment,”  is  truly  applica¬ 
ble  to  the  disposition  of  the  old  female  Gipsies. 

Nothing  was  more  common,  in  the  counties  of  Peebles 
and  Lanark,  when  the  country-people  lost  their  purses  at 
fairs,  than  to  have  recourse  to  the  chief  Gipsy  females,  to 
get  their  property  returned  to  them.  Mary  Yorkston,  hav¬ 
ing  a  sovereign  influence  and  power  among  her  tribe,  was 
often  applied  to,  in  such  cases  of  distress,  of  which  the  fol¬ 
lowing  is  a  good  specimen  : — On  one  of  these  occasions,  in  a 
market  in  the  South  of  Scotland,  a  farmer  lost  his  purse, 
containing  a  considerable  sura  of  money,  which  greatly  per¬ 
plexed  and  distressed  him.  He  immediately  went  to  Mary 
Yorkston,  to  try  if  she  would  exert  her  wonderful  influence 
to  recover  his  property.  Being  a  favourite  of  Mary’s,  she, 
without  the  least  hesitation,  took  him  along  with  her  to  the 
place  in  the  fair  where  her  husband  kept  his  temporary 
depot,  or  rather  his  office,  in  which  he  exercised  his  extra¬ 
ordinary  calling  during  the  continuance  of  the  market.  The 
presence  of  Mary  was  a  sufficient  assurance  that  all  was 
right  ;  and,  upon  the  matter  being  explained,  Matthew 
Baillie  instantly  produced,  and  spread  out  before  the  aston¬ 
ished  farmer,  from  twenty  to  thirty  purses,  and  desired 
him  to  pick  out  his  own  from  amongst  them.  The  country¬ 
man  soon  recognized  his  own,  and  grasped  at  it  without 
ceremony.  “  Hold  on,”  said  Baillie,  “  let  us  count  its  con¬ 
tents  first.”  The  Gipsy  chief,  with  the  greatest  coolness 
and  deliberation,  as  if  he  had  been  an  honest  banker  or 
money-changer,  counted  over  the  money  in  the  purse,  when 
not  a  farthing  was  found  wanting.  “  There  is  your  purse, 
sir,”  continued  Baillie  ;  “  you  see  what  it  is,  when  honest 
people  meet !” 

The  following  incident,  that  occurred  one  night  after  a 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  211 


fair,  in  a  barn  belonging;  to  one  of  my  relatives,  will  strik¬ 
ingly  illustrate  the  character  of  the  Gipsies  in  the  matter  of 
stealing  purses  : — A  band  of  superior  Gipsies  were  quar¬ 
tered  in  the  barn,  after  several  of  them  had  attended  the 
fair,  in  their  usual  manner.  The  principal  female,  whom  I 
shall  not  name,  had  also  been  at  the  market;  but  the  old 
chief  had  thought  proper  to  remain  at  home,  in  the  barn. 
My  relative,  as  was  sometimes  his  custom,  chanced  to  take 
a  turn  about  his  premises  that  night,  when  it  was  pretty 
late.  He  heard  the  voice  of  a  female  weeping  in  the  barn, 
and,  being  curious  to  know  the  cause  of  the  disturbance 
among  the  Tinklers,  stepped  softly  up,  close  to  the  back  of 
the  door,  to  listen  to  what  they  were  doing,  as  the  woman 
was  crying  bitterly.  He  was  greatly  astonished  at  hearing, 
and  never  could  forget,  the  following  expressions  :  “  Oh, 
cruel  man,  to  beat  me  in  this  way.  I  have  had  my  hands  in 
as  good  as  twenty  pockets,  but  the  honest  people  had  it  not 
to  themselves.”  The  chieftain  was,  in  fact,  chastising  his 
wife,  in  the  presence  of  his  family,  for  her  want  of  diligence 
or  success,  in  not  obtaining  enough  of  booty  at  the  fair. 
And  yet  this  individual  bore,  among  the  country-people,  the 
character  of  an  honest  man. 

Another  story  is  told  of  Mary  Yorkston  and  the  Good¬ 
man  of  Coulter-park.  It  differs  in  its  nature  from  the 
above  anecdote,  yet  is  very  characteristic  of  the  Gipsies. 
Mary  and  her  band  were  lurking  one  night  at  a  place  in 
Clydesdale,  called  Raggingill.  As  a  man  on  horseback  ap¬ 
proached  the  spot  where  they  were  concealed,  some  of  the 
tribe  immediately  laid  hold  of  the  horse,  and,  without  cere¬ 
mony,  commenced  to  plunder  the  rider.  But  Mary,  step¬ 
ping  forth  to  superintend  the  operation,  was  astonished  to 
hnd  that  the  horseman  was  her  particular  friend,  the  Good¬ 
man  of  Coulter-park.  She  instantly  exclaimed,  with  all  her 
might:  “  It’s  Mr.  Lindsay,  the  Gudeman  o’  Couter-park — - 
let  him  gang — let  him  gang—  God  bless  him,  honest  man  !” 
It  is  needless  to  add  that  Mr.  Lindsay  had  always  given 
Mary  and  her  horde  the  use  of  an  out-house  when  they  re¬ 
quired  it. 

Mary  Yorkston  despised  to  ask  what  is  properly  under- 
derstood  to  be  alms.  She  sold  horn  spoons  and  other 
articles  ;  and,  when  she  made  a  bargain,  she  would  take, 
almost  by  force,  what  she  called  her  “  boontith,”  which  is 


212 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


a  present  of  victuals,  exclusive  of  the  cash  paid  ;  a  prac¬ 
tice  which  I  will  explain  further  on  in  the  chapter. 

Matthew  Baillie  had,  by  Mary  Yorkston,  among  other 
children,  a  son,  named  James  Baillie,  who,  along  with  his 
brothers,  as  we  have  seen,  threatened  with  destruction  the 
people  assembled  in  Biggar  fair,  in  consequence  of  an  affront 
offered  to  his  mother  by  a  gardener  of  that  town.  He  was 
condemned,  in  1771,  to  be  hung,  for  the  murder  of  his  wife, 
by  beating  her  with  a  horse-whip,  and  tumbling  her  over  a 
steep  ;  but  he  “  obtained  a  pardon  from  the  king,  on  condi¬ 
tion  that  he  transported  himself  beyond  seas  within  a  limited 
time,  otherwise  the  pardon  was  to  have  no  effect.”  Baillie, 
paying  little  regard  to  the  serious  conditions  of  this  pardon, 
did  not  “  transport  himself  beyond  seas,”  but  continued 
his  former  practices,  as  appears  by  the  following  extract 
from  the  Weekly  Magazine  of  the  8th  October,  1772  : — 
“  James  Baillie,  who  was  last  summer  condemned  for  the 
murder  of  a  woman,  and  afterwards  obtained  his  majesty’s 
pardon,  on  condition  of  transporting  himself  to  America,  for 
life,  was  lately  apprehended  at  Falkirk,  on  suspicion  of  rob¬ 
bery.  On  the  1st  October  he  was  brought  to  town,  and 
committed  to  the  Tolbooth,  by  a  warrant  of  Lord  Auchin- 
leck.  This  warrant  was  granted  upon  the  petition  of  the 
procurator  fiscal  of  Stirling,  in  which  he  set  forth  that,  as 
Baillie  was  a  very  daring  fellow,  and  suspected  of  being 
concerned  with  a  gang  equally  so  with  himself,  there  was 
great  reason  to  apprehend  a  rescue  might  be  attempted,  by 
breaking  the  prison  ;  and  therefore  praying  that  he  might 
be  removed  to  Edinburgh,  where  a  scheme  of  that  nature 
could  not  so  easily  be  effected.”  On  the  18th  December, 
1773,  and  27th  February,  1774,  the  “  Lords,  in  terms  of  the 
said  former  sentence,  decree  and  adjudge  the  said  James 
Baillie  to  be  hanged  on  the  30th  March  then  next.”  He 
thus  appears  to  have  remained  in  prison  from  October,  1772, 
till  March,  1774.  “  Soon  after  this  sentence,  he  got  another 
pardon,”  and  was  again  discharged  from  prison,  in  order  to 
his  transporting  himself ;  but  he  remained  at  home,  and  again 
relapsed  into  his  former  way  of  life.  He  was,  some  time 
afterwards,  committed  to  Newcastle  gaol,  but  made  his 
escape.  A  short  time  after  that,  he  was  committed  to 
Carlisle  gaol,  on  suspicion  of  having  stolen  some  plate.  On 
the  4th  December,  1776,  three  sheriff- officers  set  out  from 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSLES.  213 


Edinburgh,  to  bring  him  hither  ;  but  before  they  reached 
Carlisle,  he  had  again  broken  prison  and  escaped.* 

During  one  of  the  periods  of  Baillie’s  imprisonment,  he 
escaped  from  jail,  attired  as  a  female  ;  having  been  assisted 
by  some  of  his  tribe,  residing  in  the  Grass-market  of  Edin¬ 
burgh.  Tradition  states  that  the  then  Mistress  Baillie,  of 
Lamington,  and  her  family,  used  all  their  interest  in  obtain¬ 
ing  these  pardons  for  James  Baillie  ;  who,  like  his  fathers 
before  him,  pretended  to  be  a  bastard  relative  of  the  family 
of  Lamington,  and  thereby  escaped  the  punishment  of  death. 
McLaurin  justly  remarks  that  “  few  cases  have  occurred  in 
which  there  has  been  such  an  expenditure  of  mercy. ”t 

I  have  already  mentioned  how  handsomely  the  superior 
order  of  Gipsies  dressed  at  the  period  of  which  we  are 
speaking.  The  male  head  of  the  Ruthvens — a  man  six  feet 
some  inches  in  height — who,  according  to  the  newspapers 
of  the  day,  lived  to  the  advanced  age  of  115  years,  when  in 
full  dress,  in  his  youth,  wore  a  white  wig,  a  ruffled  shirt,  a 
blue  Scottish  bonnet,  scarlet  breeches  and  waistcoat,  a  long 
blue  superfine  coat,  white  stockings,  with  silver  buckles  in 
his  shoes.  Others  wore  silver  brooches  in  their  breasts, 
and  gold  rings  on  their  fingers.  The  male  Gipsies  in  Scot¬ 
land  were  often  dressed  in  green  coats,  black  breeches,  and 
leathern  aprons.  The  females  were  very  partial  to  green 
clothes.  At  the  same  time,  the  following  anecdote  will 
show  how  artful  they  were  at  all  times,  by  means  of  dress 
and  other  equipments,  to  transform  themselves,  like  actors 
on  the  stage,  into  various  characters,  whenever  it  suited 
their  purposes.^ 

My  father,  when  a  young  lad,  noticed  a  large  band  of 

*  Scot’s  Magazine,  vol.  xxxviii.,  page  675. 

f  McLaurin’s  Trials,  page  555.  [See  note  at  page  205. — E».] 

j  It  appears,  from  Vidocq’s  memoirs,  that  the  Gipsies  on  the  continent 
changed  their  apparel,  so  as  they  could  not  again  be  recognized :  “  At  break 
of  day  everybody  was  on  foot,  and  the  general  toilet  was  made.  But  for 
their  (the  Gipsies’)  prominent  features,  their  raven-black  tresses,  and  oily 
and  tanned  skins,  I  should  scarcely  have  recognized  my  companions  of  the 
preceding  evening.  The  men,  clad  in  rich  jockey  Holland  vests,  with 
leathern  sashes  like  those  worn  by  the  men  of  Poirsy,  and  the  women, 
covered  with  ornaments  of  gold  and  silver,  assumed  the  costume  of  Zealand 
peasants ;  eveu  the  children,  whom  I  had  seen  covered  with  rags,  were 
neatly  clothed,  and  had  an  entirely  different  appearance.  All  soon  left  the 
house,  and  took  different  directions,  that  they  might  not  reach  the  market 
place  together,  where  the  country-people  were  assembled  in  crowds.” — 
Yidocq  had  lodged  all  night  in  a  ruinous  house,  with  a  band  of  Gipsies. 


214 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Gipsies  taking  up  their  quarters  one  night  in  an  old  out* 
house  on  a  farm  occupied  by  his  father.  The  band  had 
never  been  observed  on  the  farm  before,  and  seemed  all  to 
be  strangers,  with,  altogether,  a  very  ragged  and  miserable 
appearance.  Next  morning,  a  little  after  breakfast,  as  the 
band  began  to  pack  up  their  baggage,  and  load  their  asses, 
preparatory  to  proceeding  on  their  journey,  the  youth,  out 
of  curiosity,  went  forward  to  see  the  horde  decamp.  Among 
other  articles  of  luggage,  he  observed  a  large  and  heavy 
sack  put  upon  one  of  the  asses  ;  and,  as  the  Gipsies  were 
fastening  it  upon  the  back  of  the  animal,  the  mouth  of  it 
burst  open,  and  the  greater  part  of  its  contents  fell  upon 
the  ground.  He  was  not  a  little  surprised  when  he  beheld 
a  great  many  excellent  cocked  hats,  suits  of  fine  green 
clothes,  great-coats,  <£c.,  with  several  handsome  saddles  and 
bridles,  tumble  out  of  the  bag.  At  this  unexpected  accident, 
the  Gipsies  were  much  disconcerted.  By  some  strange  ex¬ 
pressions  and  odd  manoeuvres,  they  endeavoured  to  drive 
the  boy  from  their  presence,  and  otherwise  engage  his  at¬ 
tention,  to  prevent  him  observing  the  singular  furniture 
contained  in  the  unlucky  sack.  By  thus  carrying  along 
with  them  these  superior  articles,  so  unlike  their  ordinary 
wretched  habiliments,  the  ingenious  Gipsies  had  it  always 
in  their  power  to  disguise  themselves,  Avhenever  circum¬ 
stances  called  for  it.  The  following  anecdote  will,  in  some 
measure,  illustrate  the  “  gallant  guise”  in  which  these  wan¬ 
derers,  at  one  time,  rode  through  Scotland  : 

About  the  year  1768,  early  in  the  morning  of  the  day  of 
a  fair,  held  annually  at  Peebles,  in  the  month  of  May,  two 
gentlemen  were  observed  riding  along  the  only  road  that 
led  to  my  grandfather’s  farm.  One  of  the  servant  girls  was 
immediately  told  to  put  the  parlour  in  order,  to  receive  the 
strangers,  as,  from  their  respectable  appearance,  at  a  dis¬ 
tance,  it  was  supposed  they  were  friends,  coming  to  break¬ 
fast,  before  going  to  the  market ;  a  custom  common  enough 
in  the  country.  This  preparation,  however,  proved  unneces¬ 
sary,  as  the  strangers  rode  rapidly  past  the  dwelling-house, 
and  alighted  at  the  door  of  an  old  smearing-house,  nearly 
roofless,  situated  near  some  alder  trees,  about  three  hundred 
yards  further  up  a  small  mountain  stream.  In  passing,  they 
were  observed  to  be  neatly  dressed  in  long  green  coats, 
cocked  hats,  riding-boots  and  spurs,  armed  with  broad- 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  215 


sword?,  and  mounted  on  handsome  grey  ponies,  saddled  and 
bridled ;  everthing,  in  short,  in  style,  and  of  the  best 
quality.  The  people  about  the  farm  were  extremely  curious 
to  know  who  these  handsomely-attired  gentlemen  could  be, 
who,  without  taking  the  least  notice  of  any  one,  dismounted 
at  the  wretched  hovel  of  a  sheep-smearing  house,  where 
nothing  but  a  band  of  Tinklers  were  quartered.  Their 
curiosity,  however,  was  soon  satisfied,  and  not  a  little  mirth 
was  excited,  on  it  being  ascertained  that  the  gallant  horse¬ 
men  were  none  other  than  James  and  William  Baillie,  sons 
of  old  Matthew  Baillie,  who,  with  part  of  his  tribe,  were,  at 
the  moment,  in  the  old  house,  making  horn  spoons.  But 
greater  was  their  surprise,  when  several  of  the  female 
Gipsies  set  out,  immediately  afterwards,  for  the  fair,  attired 
in  very  superior  dresses,  with  the  air  of  ladies  in  the  middle 
ranks  of  society* 

Besides  the  large  hordes  that  traversed  the  south  of  Scot¬ 
land,  parties  of  twos  and  threes  also  passed  through  the 
country,  apparently  not  at  all  connected,  nor  in  communica¬ 
tion,  at  the  time,  with  the  large  bands.  When  a  single 
Gipsy  and  his  wife,  or  other  female,  were  observed  to  take 
up  their  quarters  by  themselves,  it  was  supposed  they  had 
either  fallen  out  with  their  clan,  or  had  the  officers  of  the 
law  in  pursuit  of  them.  Sometimes  the  chiefswould  enquire 
of  the  country  people,  if  such  and  such  a  one  of  their  tribe 
had  passed  by,  this  or  that  day,  lately.  Under  any  circum¬ 
stances,  the  presence  of  a  female  does  not  excite  so  much 
suspicion  as  a  single  male.  In  following  their  profession,  as 
tinkers,  the  Gipsies  seldom,  or  never,  travel  without  a  female 
in  their  company,  and,  I  believe,  they  sometimes  hire  them 
to  accompany  them,  to  hawk  their  wares  through  the  coun¬ 
try.  The  tinker  keeps  himself  snug  in  an  out-house,  at  his 
work,  while  the  female  vends  his  articles  of  sale,  and  forages 
for  him,  in  the  adjoining  country. 

One  of  these  straggling  Gipsies,  of  the  name  of  William 
Keith,  was  apprehended  in  an  old  smearing-house,  on  a  farm 
occupied  by  my  grandfather,  in  Tweed-dale.  William  had 
been  concerned,  with  his  brother  Robert,  in  the  murder  of 

*  The  females  of  this  tribe  also  rode  to  the  fairs  at  Moffat  and  Biggar,  on 
horses,  with  side-saddles  and  bridles,  the  ladies  themselves  being  very 
gaily  dressed.  The  males  wore  scarlet  cloaks,  reaching  to  their  knees,  and 
resembling  exactly  the  Spanish  fashion  of  the  present  day. 


216 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


one  of  their  clan,  of  the  name  of  Charles  Anderson,  at  a  small 
public-house  among  the  Lammermoor  hills,  called  Lourie’s 
Den.  Robert  Keith  and  Anderson  had  fallen  out,  and  had 
followed  each  other  for  some  time,  for  the  purpose  of  fighting 
out  their  quarrel.  They  at  last  met  at  Lourie’s  Den,  when 
a  terrible  combat  ensued.  The  two  antagonists  were  bro¬ 
thers-in-law  ;  Anderson  being  married  to  Keith’s  sister. 
Anderson  proved  an  over-match  for  Keith  ;  and  William 
Keith,  to  save  his  brother,  laid  hold  of  Anderson  ;  but  Mage 
Greig,  Robert’s  wife,  handed  her  husband  a  knife,  and  called 
on  him  to  despatch  him,  while  unable  to  defend  himself. 
Robert  repeatedly  struck  with  the  knife,  but  it  rebounded 
from  the  ribs  of  the  unhappy  man,  without  much  effect.  Im¬ 
patient  at  the  delay,  Mage  called  out  to  him,  “  strike  laigh, 
strike  laigh  in and,  following  her  directions,  he  stabbed 
Anderson  to  the  heart.  The  only  remark  made  by  any  of 
the  gang  was  this  exclamation  from  one  of  them  :  “  Gude 
faith,  Rob,  ye  have  done  for  him  noo  !”  But  William  Keith 
was  astonished  when  he  found  that  Anderson  was  stabbed 
in  his  arms,  as  his  interference  was  only  to  save  the  life  of 
his  brother  from  the  overwhelming  strength  of  Anderson. 
Robert  Keith  instantly  fled,  but  was  immediately  pursued  by 
people  armed  with  pitchforks  and  muskets.  He  was  appre¬ 
hended  in  a  braken-bush,  in  which  he  had  concealed  himself, 
and  was  executed  at  Jedburgh,  on  the  24th  November, 
1.772. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  and  the  Ettrick  Shepherd,  slightly  notice 
this  murder  at  Lourie’s  Den,  in  their  communications  to 
Blackwood’s  Magazine.  One  of  the  individuals  who  assisted 
at  the  apprehension  of  Keith  was  the  father  of  Sir  Walter 
Scott.  The  following  notice  of  this  bloody  scene  appeared 
in  one  of  the  periodical  publications  at  the  time  it  occurred  : 
“  By  a  letter  from  Lauder,  we  are  informed  of  the  following 
murder  :  On  Wednesday  se’night,  three  men,  with  a  boy, 
supposed  to  be  tinkers,  put  up  at  a  little  public-house  near 
Soutra.  From  the  after  conduct  of  two  of  the  men,  it  would 
appear  that  a  difference  had  subsisted  between  them,  before 
they  came  into  the  house,  for  they  had  drunk  but  very  little 
when  the  quarrel  was  renewed  with  great  vehemence,  and,  in 
the  dispute,  one  of  the  fellows  drew  a  knife,  and  stabbed  the 
other  in  the  body  no  less  than  seven  different  times,  of  which 
wounds  he  soon  after  expired.  The  gang  then  immediately 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  217 


made  off ;  but  upon  the  country-people  being  alarmed,  the 
murderer  himself  and  one  of  the  women  were  apprehended.”'* 
Long  after  this  battle  took  place,  James  Bartram  and 
Robert  Brydon,  messengers-at-arms  in  Peebles,  were  dis¬ 
patched  to  apprehend  William  Keith,  in  the  ruinous  house 
already  mentioned.  As  they  entered  the  building,  early  in 
the  morning,  with  cocked  pistols  in  their  hands,  Keith,  a 
powerful  man,  rose  up,  half  naked,  from  his  shake-doim ,  and, 
holding  out  a  pistol,  dared  them  to  advance.  Bartram,  the 
chief  officer,  with  the  utmost  coolness  and  bravery,  advanced 
close  up  to  the  muzzle  of  the  Gipsy’s  pistol,  and,  clapping  his 
own  to  the  head  of  the  desperate  Tinkler,  threatened  him 
with  instant  death  if  he  did  not  surrender.  A  Gipsy,  who 
had  informed  against  Keith,  was  with  the  officers,  as  their 
guide  ;  but  the  moment  he  saw  Keith’s  pistol,  he  artfully 
threw  himself,  upon  his  back,  to  the  ground.  He  imme¬ 
diately  rose  to  his  feet,  but,  in  great  terror,  sprang,  like  a 
greyhound,  over  a  fauld  dylce ,  to  escape  the  shot  which 
Keith  threatened.  The  intrepid  conduct  of  the  officers  com¬ 
pletely  daunted  the  Gipsy.  He  yielded,  and  allowed  him¬ 
self  to  be  hand-cuffed,  thinking  that  the  messengers  were 
strongly  supported  by  the  servants  on  the  farm  ;  for,  on  per¬ 
ceiving  only  the  two  officers,  lie  became  desperate,  but  he 
was  now  fast  in  irons.  In  great  bitterness  he  exclaimed, 
“  Had  I  not,  on  Saturday  night,  observed  five  stout  men  on 
Mr.  Simson’s  turf-hill,  ye  wadna  a’  hae  ta’en  me.”  The  five 
individuals  were  all  remarkably  strong  men.  It  was  on 
Monday  morning  the  Gipsy  was  apprehended,  and  it  would 
appear  he  had  been  reconnoitering  on  Saturday,  before  risk¬ 
ing  to  take  up  his  quarters,  which  he  did  without  asking 
permission  from  any  one.  He  imagined  that  the  five  turf- 
casters  were  ready  to  assist  the  officers  in  the  execution  of 
their  duty,  and  that  it  would  have  been  in  vain  for  him  to 
make  any  resistance.  The  frantic  Gipsy  now  leaped  and 
tossed  about  in  the  most  violent  manner  imaginable.  He 
struck  with  so  much  vigour,  with  his  hands  bound  in  irons, 
and  kicked  so  powerfully  with  his  feet,  that  it  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  the  officers  could  get  him  carried  to  the 
jail  at  Peebles.  Ilis  wife  came  into  the  kitchen  of  the  farm¬ 
house,  weeping  and  wailing  excessively  ;  and  on  some  of  the 
servant-girls  endeavouring  to  calm  her  grief,  she,  among 
*  Weekly  Magazine,  10th  September,  1772,  page  354. 

10 


218 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


other  bitter  expressions,  exclaimed,  “  Had  a  decent,  honest 
man,  like  the  master,  informed,  I  would  not  have  cared  ;  but 
for  a  blackguard  like  ourselves  to  inform,  is  unsufferable.” 
Keith  wras  tried,  condemned,  and  banished  to  the  planta¬ 
tions,  for  the  part  he  acted  at  the  slaughter  at  Lourie’s  Den. 

Here  we  have  seen  the  melancholy  fate  of  two,  if  not 
three,  of  the  then  Gipsy  constabulary  force  in  Peebles-shire  ; 
one  murdered,  another  hanged,  and  the  third  banished. 
However  strange  it  may  appear  at  the  present  day,  it  is 
nevertheless  true,  that  the  magistrates  of  this  county,  about 
this  period,  (1772,)  actually  appointed  and  employed  a  num¬ 
ber  of  the  principal  Gipsies  as  peace  officers,  constables,  or 
country -keepers,  as  they  were  called,  of  whom  I  will  speak 
again  in  another  place. 

The  nomadic  Gipsies  in  general,  like  the  Baillies  in  par¬ 
ticular,  have  gradually  declined  in  appearance,  till,  at  the 
present  day,  the  greater  part  of  them  have  become  little 
better  than  beggars,  when  compared  to  what  they  were  in 
former  times.  Among  those  who  frequented  the  south  of 
Scotland  were  to  be  found  various  grades  of  rank,  as  in  all 
other  communities  of  men.  There  were  then  wretched  and 
ruffian-looking  gangs,  in  whose  company  the  superior  Gipsies 
would  not  have  been  seen. 

The  reader  will  have  observed  the  complete  protection 
which  William  Baillie’s  token  afforded  Robert  McVitie, 
when  two  men  were  about  to  rob  him,  while  travelling  with 
his  packs,  between  Elvanfoot  and  Moffat.  This  system  of 
tokens  made  part  of  the  general  internal  polity  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies.  These  curious  people  stated  to  me  that  Scotland  was 
at  one  time  divided  into  districts,  and  that  each  district  was 
assigned  to  a  particular  tribe.  The  chieftains  of  these  tribes 
issued  tokens  to  the  members  of  their  respective  hordes, 
“  when  they  scattered  themselves  over  the  face  of  the  coun¬ 
try.”  The  token  of  a  local  chieftain  protected  its  bearer 
only  while  within  his  own  district.  If  found  without  this 
token,  or  detected  travelling  in  a  district  for  which  the 
token  was  not  issued,  the  individual  was  liable  to  be  plun¬ 
dered,  beaten,  and  driven  back  into  his  own  proper  territory, 
by  those  Gipsies  on  whose  rights  and  privileges  he  had  in¬ 
fringed.  These  tokens  were,  at  certain  periods,  called  in 
and  renewed,  to  prevent  any  one  from  forging  them.  They 
were  generally  made  of  tin,  with  certain  characters  impres- 


TWEED-DAI.E  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSLES.  219 


sed  upon  them  ;  and  the  token  of  each  tribe  had  its  own 
particular  mark,  and  was  well  known  to  all  the  Gipsies  in 
Scotland.  But  -while  these  passes  of  the  provincial  chief¬ 
tains  -were  issued  only  for  particular  districts,  a  token  of  the 
Baillie  family  protected  its  bearer  throughout  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland  ;  a  fact  which  clearly  proves  the  superiority  of 
that  ancient  clan.  Several  Gipsies  have  assured  me  that 
“  a  token  from  a  Baillie  was  good  over  all  Scotland,  and  that 
kings  and  queens  had  come  of  that  family.”  And  an  old 
Gipsy  also  declared  to  me  that  the  tribes  would  get  into 
utter  confusion,  were  the  country  not  divided  into  districts, 
under  the  regulations  of  tokens.  It  sometimes  happened,  as 
in  the  case  of  Robert  McVitie  and  others,  that  the  Gipsies 
gave  passes  or  tokens  to  some  of  their  particular  favourites 
who  were  not  of  their  own  race. 

This  system  of  Gipsy  polity  establishes  a  curious  fact, 
namely,  the  double  division  and  occupation  of  the  kingdom 
of  Scotland  ;  by  ourselves  as  a  civilized  people,  and  by  a 
barbarous  community  existing  in  our  midst,  each  subject  to 
its  own  customs,  laws  and  government ;  and  that,  while  the 
Gipsies  were  preying  upon  the  vitals  of  the  civilized  society 
which  harboured  them,  and  were  amenable  to  its  laws,  they 
were,  at  the  same  time,  governed  by  the  customs  of  their 
own  fraternity. 

The  surnames  most  common  among  the  old  Tweed-dale 
bands  of  Gipsies  were  Baillie,  Ruthven,  Kennedy,  Wilson, 
Keith,  Anderson,  Robertson,  Stewart,  Tait,  Geddes,  Grey, 
Wilkie  and  Halliday.  The  three  principal  clans  were  the 
Baillies,  Ruthvens  and  Kcnncdys  ;  but,  as  I  have  already 
mentioned,  the  tribe  of  Baillie  were  superior  to  all  others, 
in  point  of  authority  as  well  as  in  external  appearance.* 

Besides  the  Christian  and  surnames  common  to  them  in 
Scotland,  the  Gipsies  have  names  in  their  own  language  ;t 

*  According  to  Hoyland,  the  most  common  names  amonp:  the  English 
tented  Gipsies  are  Smith,  Cooper,  Draper,  Taylor,  Boswell,  Lee,  Lovel, 
Loversedge,  Allen,  Mansfield.  Glover,  Williams,  Carew,  Martin,  Stanley, 
Berkley,  Plunket,  and  Corrie.  Mr.  Borrow  says:  “The  clans  Young  and 
Smith,  or  Curraple,  still  haunt  two  of  the  eastern  counties.  The  name  Cur- 
raple  is  a  favourite  among  the  English  Gipsies.  It  means  a  smith — a  name 
very  appropriate  to  a  Gipsy.  The  root  is  Curaw,  to  strike,  hammer,  <fec.” 
Among  the  English  and  Scottish  Gipsies  in  America,  I  have  found  a  great 
variety  of  surnames. — Ed. 

f  In  the  “Gipsies  in  Spain.”  Mr.  Borrow  says:  “  Every  family  in  Eng- 


220 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


and.  while  travelling  through  the  country,  assume  new  names 
every  morning,  before  commencing  the  day’s  journey,  and 
retain  them  till  money  is  received,  in  one  way  or  other,  by 
each  individual  of  the  company  ;  but  if  no  money  is  received 
before  twelve  o’clock,  they  all,  at  noon- tide,  resume  their 
permanent  Scottish  names.  They  consider  it  unlucky  to  set 
out  on  a  journey,  in  the  morning,  under  their  own  proper 
names  ;  and  if  they  are,  by  any  chance,  called  back,  by  any 
of  their  neighbours,  they  will  not  again  stir  from  home  for 
that  day.  The  Gipsies  also  frequently  change  their  British 
names  when  from  home  :  in  one  part  of  the  country  they 
have  one  name,  and  in  another  part  they  appear  under  a 
different  one,  and  so  on. 

I  will  now  describe  the  appearance  of  the  Gipsies  in 
Tweed-dale  during  the  generation  immediately  following  the 
one  in  which  we  have  considered  them  ;  and  would  make 
this  remark,  that  this  account  applies  to  them  of  late  years, 
with  this  exception,  that  the  numbers  in  which  the  nomadic 
class  are  to  be  met  with  are  greatly  reduced,  their  condi¬ 
tion  greatly  fallen,  and  the  circumstances  attending  their 
reception,  countenance  and  toleration,  much  modified,  and  in 
some  instances  totally  changed. 

Within  the  memories  of  my  father  and  grandfather,  which 
take  in  about  the  last  hundred  years,  none  of  the  Gipsies 
who  traversed  Tweed-dale  carried  tents  with  them  for  their 
accommodation.  The  whole  of  them  occupied  the  kilns  and 
out-houses  in  the  country  ;  and  so  thoroughly  did  they  know 
the  country,  and  where  these  were  to  be  found,  and  the  dis¬ 
position  of  the  owners  of  them,  that  they  were  never  at  a 
loss  for  shelter  in  their  wanderings. 

Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  number  of  Gipsies  who 
would  sometimes  be  collected  together,  from  the  following 
extract  from  the  Clydesdale  Magazine,  for  May,  1818 : 
“  Mr.  Steel,  of  Kilbucho  Mill,  bore  a  good  name  among 
‘  tanderal  gangerals.’  His  kiln  was  commodious,  and  some 
hardwood  trees,  which  surrounded  his  house,  bid  defiance 
to  the  plough,  and  formed  a  fine  pasture-sward  for  the  cud¬ 
dies,  on  a  green  of  considerable  extent.  On  a  summer  Sat¬ 
urday  night,  Mary  came  to  the  door,  asking  quarters,  pretty 

land  has  two  names ;  one  by  which  they  are  known  to  the  Gentiles,  and 
another  which  they  use  among  themselves.” — Er>. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GLPSLES.  221 


late.  She  had  only  a  single  ass,  and  a  little  boy  swung  in 
the  panniers.  She  got  possession  of  the  kiln,  as  usual,  and 
the  ass  was  sent  to  graze  on  the  green  ;  but  Mary  was  only 
the  avant-garde.  Next  morning,  when  the  family  rose,  they 
counted  no  less  than  forty  cuddies  on  the  grass,  and  a  man 
for  each  of  them  in  the  kiln,  besides  women  and  children.” 
Considering  the  large  families  the  Gipsies  generally  have, 
and  allowing  at  this  meeting  two  asses  for  carrying  the  in¬ 
fants  and  luggage  of  each  family,  there  could  not  have  been 
less  than  one  hundred  Gipsies  on  the  spot. 

My  parents  recollect  the  Gipsies,  about  the  year  1775, 
traversing  the  county  of  Tweed-dale,  and  parts  of  the  sur¬ 
rounding  shires,  in  bands  varying  in  numbers  from  ten  to 
upwards  of  thirty  in  each  horde.  Sometimes  ten  or  twelve 
horses  and  asses  were  attached  to  one  large  horde,  for  the 
purpose  of  carrying  the  children,  baggage,  &c.  In  the  sum¬ 
mer  of  1784,  forty  Gipsies,  in  one  band,  requested  permis¬ 
sion  of  my  father  to  occupy  one  of  his  out-houses.  It  was 
good-humouredly  observed  to  them  that,  when  such  numbers 
of  them  came  in  one  body,  they  should  send  their  quarter¬ 
master  in  advance,  to  mark  out  their  camp.  The  Gipsies 
only  smiled  at  the  remark.  One  half  of  them  got  the  house 
requested  ;  the  other  half  occupied  an  old,  ruinous  mill,  a 
mile  distant.  There  were  above  seven  of  these  large  bands 
which  frequented  the  farms  of  my  relatives  in  Tweed-dale 
down  to  about  the  year  1790.  A  few  years  after  this  period, 
when  a  boy,  I  assisted  to  count  from  twenty-four  to  thirty 
Gipsies  who  took  up  their  quarters  in  an  old  smearing-house 
on  one  of  these  farms.  The  children,  and  the  young  folks 
generally,  were  running  about  the  old  house  like  bees  flying 
about  a  hive.  Their  horses,  asses,  dogs,  cats,  poultry,  and 
tamed  birds  were  numerous. 

These  bands  did  not  repeat  their  visits  above  twice  a 
year,  but  in  many  instances  the  principal  families  remained 
for  three  or  four  weeks  at  a  time.  From  their  manner  and 
conduct  generally,  they  seemed  to  think  that  they  had  a 
right  to  receive,  from  the  family  on  whose  grounds  they 
halted,  food  gratis  for  twenty-four  hours ;  for,  at  the  end  of 
that  period,  they  almost  always  provided  victuals  for  them¬ 
selves,  however  long  they  might  remain  on  the  farm.  The 
servants  of  my  grandfather,  when  these  large  bands  arrived, 
frequently  put  on  the  kitchen  fire  the  large  family  kail-pot, 


222 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  the  capacity  of  thirty-two  Scotch  pints,  or  about  sixteen 
gallons,  to  cook  victuals  for  these  wanderers. 

The  first  announcement  of  the  approach  of  a  Gipsy  band 
was  the  chief  female,  with,  perhaps,  a  child  on  her  back,  and 
another  walking  at  her  feet.  The  chieftain  himself,  with  his 
asses  and  baggage,  which  he  seldom  quits,  is,  perhaps,  a  mile 
and  a  half  in  the  rear,  baiting  his  beasts  of  burden,  near  the 
side  of  the  road,  waiting  the  return  and  report  of  his  quar¬ 
ter-mistress.  This  chief  female  requests  permission  for  her 
gude-man  and  iceary  bairns  to  take  up  their  quarters  for  the 
night,  in  an  old  out-house.  Knowing  perfectly  the  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  individual  from  whom  she  asks  lodgings,  she  is 
seldom  refused.  A  farmer’s  wife,  whom  I  knew,  on  granting 
this  indulgence  to  a  female  in  advance  of  her  band,  added, 
by  way  of  caution,  “  but  ye  must  not  steal  anything  from 
me,  then.”  “  We’ll  no’  play  ony  tricks  on  you,  mistress  ; 
but  others  will  pay  for  that,”  was  the  Gipsy’s  reply. 

Instead,  however,  of  the  chief  couple  and  a  child  or  two, 
the  out-house,  before  night-fall,  or  next  morning,  will  perhaps 
contain  from  twenty  to  thirty  individuals  of  all  ages  and 
sexes.  The  different  members  of  the  horde  are  observed  to 
arrive  at  head-quarters  as  single  individuals, in  twos,  and  in 
threes  ;  some  of  the  females  with  baskets  on  their  arms, 
some  of  the  males  with  fishing-rods  in  their  hands,  trout 
creels  on  their  backs,  and  large  dogs  at  their  heels.  The 
same  rule  is  observed  when  the  camp  breaks  up.  The  old 
chief  and  two  or  three  of  his  family  generally  take  the  van. 
The  other  members  of  the  band  linger  about  the  old  house 
in  which  they  have  been  quartered,  for  several  days  after 
the  chiefs  are  gone  ;  they,  however,  move  off,  in  small  parties 
of  twos  or  as  single  individuals,  on  different  days,  till  the 
whole  horde  gradually  disappear.  Above  three  grown-up 
Gipsies  are  seldom  seen  travelling  together.  In  this  manner 
have  the  Gipsies  traversed  the  kingdom,  concealing  their 
numbers  from  public  observation,  and  only  appearing  in  large 
bands  on  the  grounds  of  those  individuals  of  the  community 
who  were  not  disposed  to  molest  them.  On  such  occasions, 
when  the  chief  Gipsies  continued  encamped,  they  would  be 
visited  by  small  parties  of  their  friends,  arriving  and  de¬ 
parting  almost  daily. 

Excepting  that  of  sometimes  allowing  their  asses  to  go, 
under  night,  into  the  barn-yard,  as  if  it  were  by  accident,  to 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  223 


draw  the  stacks  of  corn,  it  is  but  fair  and  just  to  state,  that 
I  am  not  aware  of  a  single  Gipsy  ever  having  injured  the 
property  of  any  of  my  relatives  in  Tweed-dale,  although 
their  opportunities  were  many  and  tempting.  My  ancestor’s 
extensive  business  required  him,  almost  daily,  to  travel,  on 
horseback,  over  the  greater  part  of  the  south  of  Scotland  ; 
and  he  was  often  under  the  necessity  of  exposing  himself’ 
by  riding  at  night,  yet  he  never  received  the  slightest  moles¬ 
tation,  to  his  knowledge,  from  the  Gipsies.  They  were  as 
inoffensive  and  harmless  as  lambs  to  him,  and  to  every  one 
connected  with  his  family.  Whenever  they  beheld  him, 
every  head  was  uncovered,  while  they  would  exclaim, 
“  There  is  Mr.  Simson  ;  God  bless  him,  honest  man  !”  And 
woe  would  have  been  to  that  man  who  would  have  dared  to 
treat  him  badly,  had  these  determined  wanderers  been 
present. 

The  Gipsies  may  be  compared  to  the  raven  of  the  rock,  as 
a  complete  emblem  of  their  disposition.  Allow  the  corbie 
shelter,  and  to  build  her  nest  in  your  cliffs  and  wastes,  and 
she  will  not  touch  your  property  ;  but  harass  her,  and  destroy 
her  brood,  and  she  will  immediately  avenge  herself  upon 
your  young  lambs,  with  terrible  fury.*  Washings  of  clothes, 
of  great  value,  were  often  left  out  in  the  fields,  under  night, 
and  were  as  safe  as  if  they  had  been  within  the  dwelling- 
house,  under  lock  and  key,  when  the  Gipsies  happened  to  be 
quartered  on  the  premises.  If  any  of  their  children  had 
dared  to  lay  its  hands  upon  the  most  trifling  article,  its  pa¬ 
rents  would  have  given  it  a  severe  beating.  On  one  occa¬ 
sion,  when  a  Gipsy  was  beating  one  of  his  children,  for 
some  trifling  offence  it  had  committed,  my  relative  observed 
to  him  that  the  boy  had  done  no  harm.  “  If  he  has  not 
been  in  fault  just  now,  sir,  it  will  not  be  long  till  he  be  in 
one  ;  so  the  beating  he  has  got  will  not  be  thrown  away  on 
him,”  was  the  Tinkler’s  reply. 

*  It  is  known  that  the  rock-raven,  or  corbie,  seldom  preys  upon  the  flocks 
around  her  nest ;  but  the  moment  she  is  deprived  of  her  young,  she  will, 
to  the  utmost  of  her  power,  wreak  her  vengeance  on  the  young  lambs  in 
her  immediate  neighbourhood.  I  have  known  the  corbie,  when  bereaved  of 
her  brood,  tear,  with  her  beak,  the  very  foggage  from  the  earth,  and  toss 
it  about ;  and  before  twenty-four  hours  elapsed,  several  lambs  would  full 
a  sacrifice  to  her  fury.  I  have  also  observed  that  grouse,  where  the 
ground  suits  their  breeding,  are  generally  very  plentiful  close  around  the 
eyrie  of  the  relentless  falcon. 


224 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


When  the  Gipsies  took  up  their  residence  on  the  cold 
earthen  floor  of  an  old  out-house,  the  males  and  females  of 
the  different  families  had  always  beds  by  themselves,  made 
of  straw  and  blankets,  and  called  shake-downs.  The  younger 
branches  also  slept  by  themselves,  in  separate  beds,  the 
males  apart  from  the  females.  When  the- band  consisted  of 
more  families  than  one,  each  family  occupied  a  separate  part 
of  the  floor  of  the  house,  distinct  from  their  neighbours  ; 
kindled  a  separate  fire,  at  which  they  cooked  their  victuals  ; 
and  made  horn  spoons  and  other  articles  for  themselves,  for 
sale  in  the  Avay  of  their  calling.  They  formed,  as  it  were, 
a  camp  on  the  ground-floor  of  the  ruinous  house,  in  which 
would  sometimes  be  observed  five  mothers  of  families,  some 
of  whom  would  be  such  before  they  were  seventeen  years  of 
age.  The  principal  Gipsies  who,  about  this  period,  travelled 
Tweed-dale,  were  never  known  to  have  had  more  than  one 
wife  at  a  time,  or  to  have  put  away  their  wives  for  trifling 
causes. 

On  such  occasions,  the  chief  and  the  grown-up  males  of 
the  band  seldom  or  never  set  foot  within  the  door  of  the 
farm-house,  but  generally  kept  themselves  quite  aloof  and 
retired  ;  exposing  themselves  to  observation  as  little  as  pos¬ 
sible.  They  employed  themselves  in  repairing  broken 
china,  utensils  made  of  copper,  brass  and  pewter,  pots,  pans 
and  kettles,  and  white-iron  articles  generally  ;  and  in  making 
horn  spoons,  smoothing-irons,  and  sole-clouts  for  ploughs. 
But  working  in  horn  is  considered  by  them  as  their  favourite 
and  most  ancient  occupation.  It  would  certainly  be  one  of 
the  first  employments  of  man,  at  a  very  early  stage  of  human 
society — that  of  converting  the  horns  of  animals  for  the  use 
of  the  human  race  :  and  such  has  been  the  regard  which 
the  Gipsies  have  had  for  it,  that  every  clan  knows  the 
spoons  which  are  made  by  another.  The  females  also 
assisted  in  polishing,  and  otherwise  finishing,  the  spoons. 
However  early  the  farm-servants  rose  to  their  ordinary  em¬ 
ployments,  they  always  found  the  Tinklers  at  work. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  time  of  the  males  was  occu¬ 
pied  in  athletic  amusements.  They  were  constantly  exer¬ 
cising  themselves  in  leaping,  cudgel-playing,  throwing  the 
hammer,  casting  the  putting-stone,  playing  at  golf,  quoits, 
and  other  games  ;  and  while  they  were  much  given,  on  other 
occasions,  to  keep  themselves  from  view,  the  extraordinary 


TWEED-  DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  225 


ambition  which  they  all  possessed,  of  beating  every  one  they 
met  with,  at  these  exercises,  brought  them  sometimes  in  con¬ 
tact  with  the  men  about  the  farm,  master  as  well  as  servants. 
They  were  fond  of  getting  the  latter  to  engage  with  them, 
for  the  purpose  of  laughing  at  their  inferiority  in  these 
healthy  and  manly  amusements  ;  but  when  any  of  the  coun¬ 
try-people  chanced  to  beat  them  at  these  exercises,  as  was 
sometimes  the  case,  they  could  not  conceal  their  indignation 
at  the  affront.  Their  haughty  scowl  plainly  told  that  they 
were  ready  to  wipe  out  the  insult  in  a  different  and  more 
serious  manner.  Indeed,  they  were  always  much  disposed 
to  treat  farm-servants  with  contempt,  as  quite  their  inferiors 
in  the  scale  of  society  ;  and  always  boasted  of  their  own 
high  birth,  and  the  antiquity  of  their  family.  They  were 
extremely  fond  of  the  athletic  amusement  of  “  o’erending 
the  tree,”  which  was  performed  in  this  way  :  The  end  of  a 
spar  or  beam,  above  six  feet  long,  and  of  a  considerable 
thickness  and  weight,  is  placed  upon  the  upper  part  of  the 
right  foot,  and  held  about  the  middle,  in  a  perpendicular 
position,  by  the  right  hand.  Standing  upon  the  left  foot, 
and  raising  the  right  a  little  from  the  ground,  and  drawing 
it  as  far  back  as  possible,  and  then  bringing  the  foot  for¬ 
ward  quickly  to  the  front,  the  spar  is  thrown  forward  into 
the  air,  from  off  the  foot,  with  great  force.  And  he  who 
“  overends  the  tree”  the  greatest  number  of  times  in  the 
air,  before  it  reaches  the  ground,  is  considered  the  most  ex¬ 
pert,  and  the  strongest  man.  A  great  many  of  these  Gip¬ 
sies  had  a  saucy  military  gesture  in  their  walk,  and  gener¬ 
ally  carried  in  their  hands  short,  thick  cudgels,  about  three 
feet  in  length.  While  they  travelled,  they  generally  unbut¬ 
toned  the  knees  of  their  breeches,  and  rolled  down  the  heads 
of  their  stockings,  so  as  to  leave  the  joints  of  their  knees 
bare,  and  unincumbered  by  their  clothes. 

During  the  periods  they  occupied  the  out-houses  of  the 
farms,  the  owners  of  which  were  kind  to  them,  the  Gipsies 
were  very  orderly  in  their  deportment,  and  temperate  in 
the  use  of  spirituous  liquors,  being  seldom  seen  intoxicated  ; 
and  were  very  courteous  and  polite  fo  all  the  members  of 
the  family.  Their  behaviour  was  altogether  very  orderly, 
peaceable,  quiet,  and  inoffensive.  In  gratitude  for  their 
free-quarters,  they  frequently  made,  from  old  metal,  smooth¬ 
ing-irons  for  the  mistress,  and  sole-clouts  for  the  ploughs  of 
10* 


226 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  master,  and  spoons  for  the  family,  from  the  horns  of 
rams,  or  other  horns  that  happened  to  be  about  the  house  ; 
for  all  of  which  they  would  take  nothing.  They,  however, 
did  not  attend  the  church,  while  encamped  on  the  premises  ; 
at  the  same  time,  they  took  especial  care  to  give  no  moles¬ 
tation,  or  cause  of  offence,  to  any  about  the  farm,  on  Sunday  ; 
being,  indeed,  seldom  seen  on  that  day  out-side  of  the  door 
of  the  house  in  which  they  were  quartered,  saving  an  indi¬ 
vidual  to  look  after  their  horses  or  asses,  while  grazing  in 
the  neighbouring  fields.  Their  religious  sentiments  were 
confined  entirely  within  their  own  breasts  ;  and  it  was  im¬ 
possible  to  know  what  were  their  real  opinions  on  the  score 
of  religion.  However,  within  the  last  ten  years,  I  enquired, 
very  particularly,  of  an  intelligent  Gipsy,  what  religion  his 
forefathers  professed,  and  his  answer  was,  that  “  the  Gipsies 
had  no  religious  sentiments  at  all  ;  that  they  worshipped  no 
sort  of  thing  whatever.” 

Many  practised  music ;  and  the  violin  and  bag-pipes 
were  the  instruments  they  commonly  used.  This  musical 
talent  of  the  Gipsies  delighted  the  country -people  ;  it  oper¬ 
ated  like  a  charm  upon  their  feelings,  and  contributed  much 
to  procure  the  wanderers  a  night’s  quarters.  Many  of  the 
families  of  the  farmers  looked  forward  to  the  expected  visits 
of  the  merry  Gipsies  with  pleasure,  and  regretted  their  de¬ 
parture.  Some  of  the  old  women  sold  salves  and  drugs, 
while  some  of  the  males  had  pretensions  to  a  little  surgery. 
One  of  them,  of  the  name  of  Campbell,  well  known  by  the 
title  of  Dr.  Duds,  traversed  the  south  of  Scotland,  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  number  of  women.  He  prescribed,  and  sold  me¬ 
dicines  to  the  inhabitants  ;  and  several  odd  stories  are  told 
of  the  very  unusual,  but  successful,  cures  performed  by 
him. 

As  in  arranging  for,  and  taking  up,  their  quarters,  the 
principal  female  Gipsy  almost  always  negotiates  the  transac¬ 
tions  which  the  horde  have  with  the  fanner’s  family,  during 
their  abode  on  his  premises.  Indeed,  the  females  are  the  most 
active,  if  not  the  principal,  members  of  the  tribe,  in  vending 
their  articles  of  merchandise.  The  time  at  which,  on  such 
occasions,  they  present  these  for  sale,  is  the  day  after  their 
arrival  on  the  farm,  and  immediately  after  the  breakfast  of 
the  farmer’s  family  is  over.  When  there  are  more  families 
than  one  in  the  band,  but  all  of  one  horde,  the  chief  female 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSLES.  227 


of  the  whole  gets  the  first  chance  of  selling  her  wares  ;  but 
every  head  female  of  the  respective  families  bargains  for 
her  own  merchandise,  for  the  behoof  of  her  own  family. 
When  the  farmer’s  family  is  in  want  of  any  of  their  articles, 
an  extraordinary  higgling  and  chaffering  takes  place  in 
making  the  bargain.  Besides  money,  the  Gipsy  woman  in¬ 
sists  upon  having  what  she  calls  her  “  boon  tit  h” — that  is.  a 
present  in  victuals,  as  she  is  fond  of  bartering  her  articles 
for  provisions.  If  the  mistress  of  the  house  agrees,  and  goes 
to  her  larder  or  milk-house  for  the  purpose  of  giving  her 
this  boontith,  the  Gipsy  is  sure  to  follow  close  at  her  heels. 
Admitted  into  the  larder,  the  voracious  Tinkler  will  have 
part  of  everything  she  sees — flesh,  meal,  butter,  cheese,  <fcc., 
&c.  Her  fiery  and  penetrating  eye  darts,  with  rapidity,  from 
one  object  to  another.  She  makes  use  of  every  argument 
she  can  think  of  to  induce  the  farmer’s  wife  to  comply 
with  her  unreasonable  demands.  “  I’m  wi’  bairn,  mistress,” 
she  will  say  ;  “  I’m  greenin’  ;  God  bless  ye,  gie  me  a  wee  bit 
flesh  to  taste  my  mouth,  if  it  should  no’  be  the  book  o’  a 
robin-red-breast.”*  If  the  farmer’s  wife  still  disregards  her 
importunities,  the  Gipsy  will,  in  the  end,  snatch  up  a  piece 
of  flesh,  and  put  it  into  her  lap.  in  a  twinkling  ;  for  out  of 
the  larder  she  will  not  go.  without  something  or  other.  The 
farmer’s  wife,  ever  on  the  alert,  now  takes  hold  of  the  sorner, 
to  wrest  the  flesh  from  her  clutches,  when  a  serious  personal 
struggle  ensues.  She  will  frequently  be  under  the  necessity 
of  calling  for  the  assistance  of  her  servants,  to  thrust  the 
intruder  out  of  the  apartment ;  but  the  cautious  Gipsy  takes 
care  not  to  let  matters  go  too  far  :  she  yields  the  contest, 
and,  laughing  heartily  at  the  good-wife  losing  her  temper, 
immediately  assumes  her  ordinary  polite  manner.  And  not¬ 
withstanding  all  that  has  taken  place,  both  parties  generally 
part  on  good  terms. 

On  one  of  these  bargain-making  occasions,  as  the  wife  of  the 
farmer  of  Glencotha,  in  Tweed-dale,  went  to  give  a  boontith 
to  Mary  Yorkston,  the  harpy  thrust,  unobserved,  about  four 

*  After  recovery  from  child-birth,  the  Gipsy  woman  recommences  her 
course  of  begging  or  stealing,  with  her  child  in  her  arms ;  and  then  she  is 
more  rapacious  than  at  other  times,  taking  whatever  she  can  lay  her  hands 
upon.  For  she  calculates  upon  escaping  without  a  beating,  by  holding  up 
her  child  to  receive  the  blows  aimed  at  her ;  which  she  knows  will  have 
the  effect  of  making  the  aggrieved  person  desist,  till  she  finds  an  opportun¬ 
ity  of  getting  out  of  the  way. — Grellmann  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. — Ed. 


228 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


pounds  weight  of  tallow*  into  her  lap.  On  the  return  of  the 
good-wife,  the  tallow  was  missed.  She  charged  Mary  with 
the  theft,  but  Mary,  with  much  gravity  of  countenance,  ex¬ 
claimed  :  “  God  bless  ye,  mistress,  I  wad  steal  from  mony  a 
one  before  I  wad  steal  from  you.”  The  good-wife,  however, 
took  hold  of  Mary,  to  search  her  person.  A  struggle 
ensued,  when  the  tallow  fell  out  of  Mary’s  lap,  on  the  kitch¬ 
en-floor.  At  this  exposure,  in  the  very  act  of  stealing,  the 
Gipsy  burst  into  a  lit  of  laughter,  exclaiming  :  “  The  Lord 
hae  a  care  o’  me,  mistress ;  ye  hae  surely  little  to  spare, 
whan  ye  winna  let  a  body  take  a  bit  taueh  for  a  candle,  to 
light  her  to  bed.”  At  another  time,  this  Gipsy  gravely 
told  the  good-wife  of  Rachan-mill,  that  she  must  give  her  a 
pound  of  butter  for  her  boontith,  that  time,  as  it  would  be 
the  last  she  would  ever  give  her.  Astonished  at  the  extra¬ 
ordinary  saying,  the  good-wife  demanded,  with  impatience, 
what  she  meant.  “  You  will,”  rejoined  the  Gipsy,  “  be  in 
eternity  (by  a  certain  day,  which  she  named,)  and  I  will 
never  see  you  again  ;  and  this  will  be  the  last  boontith  you 
will  ever  give  me.”  The  good-wife  of  Rachan-mill,  however, 
survived  the  terrible  prediction  for  several  years.* 

The  female  Gipsies  also  derived  considerable  profits  from 
their  trade  of  fortune-telling.  The  art  of  telling  fortunes 
was  not,  however,  general  among  the  Gipsies  ;  it  was  only 
certain  old  females  who  pretended  to  be  inspired  with  the 

*  The  following  facts  will  show  what  a  Scottish  Tinkler,  at  the  present 
day,  will  sometimes  do  in  the  way  of  ‘‘sorning,”  or  masterful  begging. 

One  of  the  race  paid  a  visit  to  the  house  of  a  country  ale-wife,  and,  in  a 
crowded  shop,  vaulted  the  counter,  and  applied  his  bottle  to  her  whiskey- 
tap.  Immediately  a  cry,  with  up-lifted  hands,  was  raised  for  the  police,  but 
the  prudent  ale-wife  treated  the  circumstance  with  indifference,  and  ex¬ 
claimed  :  “  Hout,  tout,  tout !  let  the  deil  tak’  a  wee  drappie.” 

On  another  occasion,  a  Gipsy  woman  entered  a  country  public-house, 
leaving  her  partner  at  a  short  distance  from  the  door.  Espying  a  drawn 
bottle  of  porter,  standing  on  a  table,  in  a  room  in  which  were  two  females 
sitting,  she,  without  the  least  ceremony,  filled  a  glass,  and  drank  it  off; 
but  before  she.  could  decant  another,  the  other  Gipsy,  feeling  sure  of  the 
luck  of  his  mate,  from  her  being  admitted  into  the  premises,  immediately 
proceeded  to  share  it  with  her.  But  he  had  hardly  drank  off  the  remainder 
of  the  porter,  ere  a  son  of  the  mistress  of  the  house  made  his  appearance, 
and  demanded  what  was  wanted.  “  Want — want  ?”  replied  the  Gipsy,  with 
a  leering  eye  towards  the  empty  bottle ;  “  we  want  nothing — we’ve  got  all 
that  we  want  I”  On  being  ordered  to  “  walk  out  of  that,”  they  left,  with  a 
smile  of  satisfaction  playing  on  their  weather-beaten  countenances. 

Such  displays  of  Gipsy  impudence  sometimes  call  forth  only  a  hearty 
laugh  from  the  people  affected  by  them, — Ed. 


TWEED  BALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES.  229 


gift  of  prophecy.  Tiie  method  which  they  adopted  to  get 
at  the  information  which  often  enabled  them  to  tell,  if  not 
fortunes,  at  least  the  history,  and  condition  of  mind,  of  indi¬ 
viduals,  with  great  accuracy,  was  somewhat  this  : 

The  inferior  Gipsies  generally  attended  our  large  country 
“  penny-weddings,”  in  former  times,  both  as  musicians  and 
for  the  purpose  of  receiving  the  fragments  of  the  entertain¬ 
ments.  At  the  wedding  in  the  parish  of  Corstorphine,  to 
which  I  have  alluded,  under  the  chapter  of  Fife  and  Stir¬ 
lingshire  Gipsies,  Charles  Stewart  entered  into  familiar  con¬ 
versation  with  individuals  present ;  joking  with  them  about 
their  sweet-hearts,  and  love-matters  generally  ;  telling  them 
he  had  noticed  such  a  one  at  such  a  place  ;  and  observing 
to  another  that  he  had  seen  him  at  such  a  fair,  and  so  on. 
He  always  enquired  about  their  masters,  and  places  of  abode, 
with  other  particulars  relative  to  their  various  connections 
and  circumstances  in  life.  Here,  the  Gipsy  character  dis¬ 
plays  itself ;  here,  we  see  Stewart,  while  he  seems  a  mere 
merry-andrew,  to  the  heedless,  merry-making  people  at  these 
weddings,  actually  reading,  with  deep  sagacity,  their  char¬ 
acters  and  dispositions ;  and  ascertaining  the  places  of 
residence,  and  connexions,  of  many  of  the  individuals  of  the 
country  through  which  he  travelled.  In  this  manner,  by 
continually  roaming  up  and  down  the  kingdom,  now  as  in¬ 
dividuals  in  disguise,  at  other  times  in  bands — not  passing 
a  house  in  their  route — observing  everything  taking  place 
in  partial  assemblies,  at  large  weddings,  and  general  gather¬ 
ings  of  the  people  at  fairs — scanning,  with  the  eye  of  a 
hawk,  both  males  and  females,  for  the  purpose  of  robbing 
them — did  the  Gipsies,  with  their  great  knowledge  of  hu¬ 
man  character,  become  thoroughly  acquainted  with  par¬ 
ticular  incidents  concerning  many  individuals  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.  Hence  proceed,  in  a  great  measure,  the  warlockry  and 
fortune-telling  abilities  of  the  shrewd  and  sagacious  Gipsies. 

Or,  suppose  an  old  Gipsy  female,  who  traverses  the  king¬ 
dom,  has  a  relative  a  lady’s  maid  in  a  family  of  rank,  and 
another  a  musician  in  a  band,  playing  to  the  first  classes  of 
society,  in  public  or  private  assemblies,  the  travelling  spcie- 
wife  would  not  be  without  materials  for  carrying  on  her 
trade  of  fortune-telling.  The  observant  handmaid,  and  the 
acute,  penetrating  fiddler  would,  of  course,  communicate  to 
their  wandering  relative  every  incident  and  circumstance 


230 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


that  came  under  their  notice,  -which  would,  at  an  after  and 
suitable  period,  enable  the  cunning  fortune-teller  to  astonish 
some  of  the  parties  who  had  been  at  these  meetings,  when  in 
another  part  of  the  country,  remote  in  time,  and  distant  in 
place,  from  the  spot  where  the  occurrences  happened. 

In  order  that  they  might  not  lessen  the  importance  and 
value  of  their  art,  these  Gipsies  pretended  they  could  tell 
no  one’s  fortune  for  anything  less  than  silver,  or  articles 
of  wearing-apparel,  or  other  things  of  value.  Besides  telling 
fortunes  by  palmistry*  they  foretold  destinies  by  divination 
of  the  cup,  their  method  of  doing  which  appears  to  be  nearly 
the  same  as  that  practised  among  the  ancient  Assyrians, 
Chaldeans,  and  Egyptians,  perhaps,  about  the  time  of  Joseph. 
The  Gipsy  method  was,  and  I  may  say  is,  this  :  The  divin¬ 
ing  cup,  which  is  made  of  tin,  or  pewter,  and  about  three 
inches  in  diameter,  was  filled  with  water,  and  sometimes 
with  spirits.  Into  the  cup  a  certain  quantity  of  a  melted 
substance,  resembling  tin,  was  dropped  from  a  crucible, 
which  immediately  formed  itself,  in  the  liquid,  into  curious 
figures,  resembling  frost-work,  seen  on  windows  in  winter. 
The  compound  was  then  emptied  into  a  trencher,  and  from 
the  arrangements  or  constructions  of  the  figures,  the  destiny 
of  the  enquiring  individual  was  predicted. t  While  per- 


*  The  Kamtschadales,  says  Dr.  Grieve,  in  his  translation  of  a  Russian 
account  of  Kamtschatka,  pretend  to  chiromancy,  and  tell  a  man’s  good  or 
bad  fortune  by  the  lines  of  his  hand ;  but  the  rules  which  they  follow  are 
kept  a  great  secret.  Page  206. 

t  Julius  Serenus,  says  Stackhouse,  tells  us,  that  the  method  among  the 
Assyrians,  Chaldeans,  and  Egyptians  was  to  fill  the  cup  with  water,  then 
throw  into  it  thin  plates  of  gold  and  silver,  together  with  some  precious 
stones,  whereon  were  engraven  certain  characters,  and,  after  that,  the  per¬ 
son  who  came  to  consult  the  oracle  used  certain  forms  of  incantation,  and, 
so  calling  upon  the  devil,  were  wont  to  receive  their  answer  several  ways: 
sometimes  by  particular  sounds;  sometimes  by  the  characters  which  were 
in  the  cup  rising  upon  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  by  their  arrangement 
forming  the  answer;  and  many  times  by  the  visible  appearance  of  the  per¬ 
sons  themselves,  about  whom  the  oracle  was  consulted.  Cornelius  Agrippa 
(De  Occult.  Philos.  LI,  c.  57,)  tells  us,  likewise,  that  the  manner  of  some  was 
to  pour  melted  wax  into  the  cup  wherein  was  water ;  which  wax  would 
range  itself  in  order,  and  so  form  answers,  according  to  the  questions  pro¬ 
posed. — Saurin’s  Dis.-ierlation,  38,  and  Hudegger’x  IPs.  patriar.  excrcil.  20. 

Fortune-telling  is  punishable  by  the  9th  Geo.  II,  chap.  5th.  In  June, 
1805,  a  woman,  of  the  name  of  Maxwell,  commonly  called  the  Galloway 
Eorceress,  was  tried  for  this  offence,  by  a  jury,  before  the  Stewart  of  Kirk¬ 
cudbright,  and  was  sentenced  to  imprisonment  and  the  pillory. — Burnet  on 
Criminal  Law,  page  173. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  OIFSLES.  231 


forming  the  ceremony,  the  Gipsies  muttered,  in  their  own 
language,  certain  incantations,  totally  unintelligible  to  the 
spectator.  The  following  fact,  however,  will,  more  particu¬ 
larly,  show  the  manner  in  which  these  Gipsy  sorceresses  im¬ 
posed  on  the  credulous. 

A  relative  of  mine  had  several  servant-girls  who  would, 
one  day,  have  their  fortunes  told.  The  old  Gipsy  took  them, 
one  at  a  time,  into  an  apartment  of  the  house,  and  locked  the 
door  after  her.  My  relative,  feeling  a  curiosity  in  the  mat¬ 
ter,  observed  their  operations,  and  overheard  their  conver¬ 
sation,  through  a  chink  in  the  partition  of  the  room.  A 
bottle  of  whiskey,  and  a  wine  glass,  were  produced  by  the 
girl,  and  the  sorceress  filled  the  glass,  nearly  full,  with  the 
spirits.  Into  the  liquor  she  dropped  part  of  the  white  of  a 
raw  egg,  and  taking  out  of  her  pocket  something  like  chalk, 
scraped  part  of  it  into  the  mixture.  Certain  figures  now 
appeared  in  the  glass,  and,  muttering  some  jargon,  unintelli¬ 
gible  to  the  girl,  she  held  it  up  between  her  eyes  and  the 
window.  “  There  is  your  sweetheart  now — look  at  him — 
do  you  not  see  him  ?”  exclaimed  the  Gipsy  to  the  trembling 
girl  ;  and,  after  telling  her  a  number  of  events  which  were 
to  befall  her,  in  her  journey  through  life,  she  held  out  the 
glass,  and  told  her  to  “  cast  that  in  her  mouth” — “  Me  drink 
that  ?  The  Lord  forbid  that  I  should  drink  a  drap  o’t.” 
“  E’ens  ye  like,  my  woman  ;  I  can  takJ  it  mysel,”  quoth  the 
Gipsy,  and,  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  “  cast”  the  whis¬ 
key,  eggs  and  chalk*  down  her  throat,  in  an  instant.  Know¬ 
ing  well  that  the  idea  of  swallowing  the  glass  in  which 
their  future  husbands  were  seen,  and  their  own  fortunes 
told,  in  so  mysterious  a  manner,  would  make  the  girls  shud¬ 
der,  the  cunning  Gipsy  gave  each  of  them,  in  succession,  the 
order  to  drink,  and,  the  moment  they  refused,  threw  the  con¬ 
tents  of  the  “  divining  cup”  into  her  own  mouth.  In  this 
manner  did  the  Gipsy  procure,  at  one  time,  no  less  than 
four  glasses  of  ardent  spirits,  and  sixpence  from  each  of  the 
credulous  girls. 

The  country-girls,  however,  never  could  stand  out  the 
operations  of  telling  fortunes  by  the  method  of  turning  a 
corn-riddle,  with  scissors  attached,  in  a  solitary  out-house. 

*  It  is  not  unlikely  that  the  “  something  like  chalk,”  here  mentioned,  was 
nothing  but  a  nutmeg,  with  which,  and  the  eggs  and  whiskey,  the  Gipsy 
would  make,  what  is  called,  "  egg-nogg.” — Ed. 


232 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Whenever  the  Gipsy  commenced  her  work,  and,  with  her 
mysterious  mutterings,  called  out :  “  Turn  riddle — turn — 
shears  and  all,”  the  terrified  girls  fled  to  the  house,  impres¬ 
sed  with  the  belief  that  the  devil  himself  would  appear  to 
them,  on  the  spot. 

The  Gipsies  in  Tweed-dale  were  never  in  want  of  the  best 
of  provisions,  having  always  an  abundance  of  fish;  flesh,  and 
fowl.  At  the  stages  at  which  they  halted,  in  their  progress 
through  the  country,  it  was  observed  that  the  principal  fami¬ 
lies,  at  one  time,  ate  as  good  victuals,  and  drank  as  good 
liquors,  as  any  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  country.  A  lady  of 
respectability  informed  me  of  her  having  seen,  in  her  youth,  a 
band  dine  on  the  green-sward,  near  Douglass-mill,  in  Lanark¬ 
shire,  when,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  the  Gipsies  handed 
about  their  wine,  after  dinner,  as  if  they  had  been  as  good 
a  family  as  any  in  the  land.  Those  in  Fifeshire,  as  we  have 
already  seen,  were  in  the  habit  of  purchasing  and  killing  fat 
cattle,  for  their  winter’s  provisions.  In  a  communication  to 
Blackwood’s  Magazine,  to  which  I  will  again  allude,  the 
illustrious  author  of  “  Waverley”  mentions  that  his  grand¬ 
father  was,  in  some  respects,  forced  to  accept  a  dinner  from 
a  party  of  Gipsies,  carousing  on  a  moor,  on  the  Scottish  Bor¬ 
der.  The  feast  consisted  of  “  all  the  varieties  of  game, 
poultry,  pigs,  and  so  forth.”  And,  according  to  the  same 
communication,  it  would  appear  that  they  were  in  the  prac¬ 
tice  of  stewing  game  and  all  kinds  of  poultry  into  soup, 
which  is  considered  very  rich  and  savoury,  and  is  now 
termed  “  Pottage  a  la  Meg  Merrilies  de  Derncleugh  a 
name  derived  from  the  singular  character  in  the  celebrated 
novel  of  Guy  Mannering. 

But  the  ancient  method  of  cooking  practised  among  the 
Scottish  Gipsies,  and  which,  in  all  probability,  they  brought 
with  them,  when  they  arrived  in  Europe,  upwards  of  four 
hundred  years  ago,  is,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  new  to  the  world, 
never  having  as  yet,  that  I  am  aware  of,  been  described.* 
It  is  very  curious,  and  extremely  primitive,  and  appears  to 
be  of  the  highest  antiquity.  It  is  admirably  adapted  to  the 
wants  of  a  rude  and  barbarous  people,  travelling  over  a  wild 
and  thinly-inhabited  country,  in  which  cooking  utensils  could 
not  be  procured,  or  conveniently  carried  with  them. 

**  I  published  the  greater  part  of  the  Gipsy  method  of  cooking,  in  the 
Fife  Herald,  of  the  18th  April,  1833. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GITSIES.  233 


My  facts  are  from  the  Gipsies  themselves,  and  are  corrobo¬ 
rated  by  people,  not  of  the  tribe,  who  have  witnessed  some 
of  their  cooking  operations. 

The  Gipsies,  on  such  occasions,  make  use  of  neither  pot, 
pan,  spit,  nor  oven,  in  cooking  fowls.  They  twist  a 
strong  rope  of  straw,  which  they  wind  very  tightly  around 
the  fowl,  just  as  it  is  killed,  with  the  whole  of  its  feathers 
on,  and  its  entrails  untouched.  It  is  then  covered  with 
hot  peat  ashes,  and  a  slow  fire  is  kept  up  around  and  about 
the  ashes,  till  the  fowl  is  sufficiently  done.  When  taken  out 
from  beneath  the  fire,  it  is  stripped  of  its  hull,  or  shell,  of 
half-burned  straw-rope  and  feathers,  and  presents  a  very 
fine  appearance.  Those  who  have  tasted  poultry,  cooked  by 
the  Gipsies,  in  this  manner,  say  that  it  is  very  palatable 
and  good.  In  this  invisible  way,  these  ingenious  people 
could  cook  stolen  poultry,  at  the  very  moment,  and  in  the 
very  place,  that  a  search  was  going  on  for  the  pilfered 
article. 

The  art  of  cooking  butcher-meat  among  the  Gipsies  is 
similar  to  that  of  making  ready  fowls,  except  that  linen 
and  clay  are  substituted  for  feathers  and  straw.  The  piece 
of  flesh  to  be  cooked  is  first  carefully  wrapped  up  in  a  cov¬ 
ering  of  cloth  or  linen  rags,  and  covered  over  with  well 
wrought  clay,  and  either  frequently  turned  before  a  strong 
fire,  or  covered  over  with  hot  ashes,  till  it  is  roasted,  or 
rather  stewed.  The  covering  or  crust,  of  the  shape  of  the 
article  enclosed,  and  hard  with  the  fire,  is  broken,  and  the 
meat  separated  from  its  inner  covering  of  burned  rags, 
which,  with  the  juice  of  the  meat,  are  reduced  to  a  thick 
sauce  or  gravy.  Sometimes  a  little  vinegar  is  poured  upon 
the  meat.  The  tribe  are  high  in  their  praise  of  flesh  cooked 
in  this  manner,  declaring  that  it  has  a  particularly  fine 
flavour.  These  singular  people,  I  am  informed,  also  boiled 
the  flesh  of  sheep  in  the  skins  of  the  animals,  like  the 
Scottish  soldiers  in  their  wars  with  the  English  nation, 
when  their  camp-kettles  were  nothing  but  the  hides  of  the 
oxen,  suspended  from  poles,  driven  into  the  ground. 

The  only  mode  of  cooking  butcher-meat,  bearing  any 
resemblance  to  that  of  the  Gipsies,  is  practised  by  some  of 
the  tribes  of  South  America,  who  wrap  flesh  in  leaves,  and, 
covering  it  over  with  clay,  cook  it  like  the  Gipsies.  Some 
of  the  Indians  of  North  America  roast  deer  of  a  small  size 


234 


A  BISTORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


in  tlicir  skins,  among  hot  ashes.  An  individual  of  great 
respectability,  who  had  tasted  venison  cooked  in  this  fashion, 
said  that  it  was  extremely  juicy,  and  finely  flavoured.  In 
the  Sandwich  Islands,  pigs  are  baked  on  hot  stones  in  pits, 
or  in  the  leaves  of  the  bread-fruit  tree,  on  hot  stones,  covered 
over  with  earth,  during  the  operation  of  cooking.  It  is  pro¬ 
bable  that  the  Gipsy  art  of  cooking  would  be  amongst  the 
first  modes  of  making  ready  animal  food,  in  the  first  stage 
of  human  society,  in  Asia — the  cradle  of  the  human  race.* 
Substitute  linen  rags  for  the  leaves  of  trees,  and  what  me¬ 
thod  of  cooking  can  be  more  primitive  than  that  of  our 
Scottish  Gipsies  ? 

The  Gipsy  method  of.  smelting  iron,  for  sole-clout  for 
ploughs,  and  smoothing-irons,  is  also  simple,  rude,  and  pri¬ 
mitive.!  The  tribe  erect,  on  the  open  field,  a  small  circle, 
built  of  stone,  turf,  and  clay,  for  a  furnace,  of  about  three  feet 
in  height,  and  eighteen  inches  in  diameter,  and  plastered, 
closely  round  on  the  outside,  up  to  the  top,  with  mortar  made 
of  clay.  The  circle  is  deepened  by  part  of  the  earth  being 
scooped  out  from  the  inside.  It  is  then  filled  with  coal  or 
charred  peat ;  and  the  iron  to  be  smelted  is  placed  in  small 
pieces  upon  the  top.  Below  the  fuel  an  aperture  is  left 
open,  on  one  side,  for  admitting  a  large  iron  ladle,  lined 
inside  with  clay.  The  materials  in  the  furnace  are  power¬ 
fully  heated,  by  the  blasts  of  a  large  hand-bellows,  (gene¬ 
rally  wrought  by  females,)  admitted  at  a  small  hole,  a  little 
from  the  ground.  When  the  metal  comes  to  a  state  of 

*  Ponqueville  considers  the  Gipsies  contemporary  of  the  first  societies. 
Paris,  1830. 

f  According  to  Grellmann,  working  in  iron  is  the  most  usual  occupa¬ 
tion  of  the  Gipsies.  In  Hungary  it  is  so  common,  as  to  have  given  rise 
to  the  proverb,  “  So  many  Gipsies,  so  many  smiths.”  The  same  may  be 
said  of  those  in  Transylvania,  Wallachia,  and  Moldavia,  and  all  Turkey  in 
Europe ;  at  least,  Gipsies  following  that  occupation  are  very  numerous  in 
those  countries. 

This  occupation  seems  to  have  been  a  favourite  one  with  them,  from  the 
most  distant  period.  Uladislaus,  King  of  Hungary,  in  the  year  1496,  or¬ 
dered  :  “  That  every  officer  and  subject,  of  whatever  rank  or  condition,  do 
allow  Thomas  Polgar,  leader  of  twenty-five  tents  of  wandering  Gipsies,  free 
residence  everywhere,  and  on  no  account  to  molest  either  him  or  his 
people,  because  they  prepared  musket  balls  and  other  military  stores,  for 
the  Bishop  Sigismund,  at  Funf-kircheu.”  In  the  year  1565,  when  Mus- 
tapa,  Turkish  Regent  of  Bosnia,  besieged  Crupa,  the  Turks  having  ex¬ 
pended  their  powder  and  cannon  balls,  the  Gipsies  were  employed  to  make 
the  latter,  part  of  iron,  the  rest  of  stone,  cased  with  lead. 


TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  0TDS1ES.  235 


fusion,  it  finds  its  way  down  to  the  ladle,  and,  after  being 
skimmed  of  its  cinders,  is  poured  into  the  different  sand 
moulds  ready  to  receive  it. 

Observe  the  Gipsies  at  whatever  employment  you  may,  there  always 
appear  sparks  of  genius.  We  cannot,  indeed,  help  wondering,  when  w'e 
consider  the  skill  they  display  in  preparing  and  bringing  their  work  to 
perfection,  from  the  scarcity  of  proper  tools  and  materials. —  Grclhnann  on 
the  Hungarian  Gipsies. — Ed. 


CHAPTER  VII. 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 

It  would  be  an  unpardonable  omission  were  I  to  overlook 
the  descendants  of  John  Faw,  “  Lord  and  Earl  of  Little 
Egypt,”  in  this  history  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland.  But  to 
enter  into  details  relative  to  many  of  the  members  of  this 
ancient  clan,  would  be  merely  a  repetition  of  actions,  simi¬ 
lar  in  character  to  those  already  related  of  some  of  the  other 
bands  in  Scotland. 

It  would  appear  that  the  district  in  which  the  Faw  tribe 
commonly  travelled,  comprehended  East  Lothian,  Berwick¬ 
shire  and  Roxburghshire ;  and  that  Northumberland  was  also 
part  of  their  walk.  I  can  find  no  traces  of  Gipsies,  of  that 
surname,  having,  in  families,  traversed  the  midland  or  west¬ 
ern  parts  of  the  south  of  Scotland,  for  nearly  the  last  seventy 
years ;  and  almost  all  the  few  ancient  public  documents 
relative  to  this  clan  seem  to  imply  that  they  occupied  the 
counties  above  mentioned. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Faws  and  the  Baillies, 
the  two  principal  Gipsy  clans  in  Scotland,  had  frequently 
lived  in  a  state  of  hostility  with  one  another.  These  two 
tribes  quarrelled  in  the  reign  of  James  V,  when  they 
brought  their  dispute  before  the  king  in  council ;  and  from 
the  renewal  of  the  order  in  council,  in  the  reign  of  Queen 
Mary,  it  appears  their  animosities  had  then  existed.  In  the 
year  1677,  the  Faws  and  the  Shaws,  as  already  noticed, 
advanced  into  Tweed-dale,  to  fight  the  Baillies  and  the 
Browns,  as  mentioned  by  Dr.  Pennecuik,  in  his  history  of 
Tweed-dale.  At  the  present  day,  the  Baillies  consider 
themselves  quite  superior  in  rank  to  the  Faas  ;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  Faas  and  their  friends  speak  with  great 
bitterness  and  contempt  of  the  Baillies,  calling  them  “a 
parcel  of  thieves  and  vagabonds.”* 

*  This  long  standing  feud  between  the  Baillies  and  the  Faas  is  notorious. 

(236) 


BOEDER  GIPSIES. 


237 


In  Ruddiman’s  Weekly  Magazine,  of  the  4th  August,  1774, 
the  following  notice  is  taken  of  this  tribe,  which  shows  the 
fear  which  persons  of  respectability  entertained  for  them  : 
“  The  descendants  of  this  Lord  of  Little  Egypt  continued  to 
travel  about  in  Scotland  till  the  beginning  of  this  century, 
mostly  about  the  southern  Border  ;  and  I  am  most  credibly 
informed  that  one,  Henry  Faa,  was  received,  and  ate  at  the 
tables  of  people  in  public  office,  and  that  men  of  considerable 
fortune  paid  him  a  gratuity,  called  blackmail,  in  order  to 
have  their  goods  protected  from  thieves.” 

One  of  the  Faas  rose  to  great  eminence  in  the  mercantile 
world,  and  was  connected  by  marriage  with  Scotch  families 
of  the  rank  of  baronets.  This  family  was  the  highly  respect¬ 
able  one  of  Fall,  now  extinct,  general  merchants  in  Dunbar, 
who  were  originally  members  of  the  Gipsy  family  at 
Yetholm.  So  far  back  as  about  the  year  1670,  one  of  the 
baillies  of  Dunbar  was  of  the  surname  of  Faa,  spelled  exactly 
as  the  Gipsy  name,  as  appears  by  the  Rev.  J.  Blackadder’s 
Memoirs.  On  the  18th  of  May,  1734,  Captain  James  Fall, 
of  Dunbar,  was  elected  member  of  parliament  for  the  Dunbar 
district  of  burghs.  On  the  28th  of  May,  1741,  Captain  Fall 
was  again  elected  member  for  the  same  burghs  ;  but,  there 
being  a  double  return,  Sir  Hew  Dalrymple  ousted  him.  The 
family  of  Fall  gave  Dunbar  provosts  and  baillies,  and  ruled 
the  political  interests  of  that  burgh  for  many  years.  When 
hearty  over  their  cups,  they  often  mentioned  their  origin  ; 
and,  to  perpetuate  the  memory  of  their  descent  from  the 
family  of  Faa,  at  Yetholm,  the  late  Mrs.  Fall,  of  Dunbar, 
whose  husband  was  provost  of  the  town,  had  the  whole 
family,  with  their  asses,  &c.,  &c.,  as  they  took  their  departure 
from  Yetholm,  represented,  by  herself,  in  needle- work,  or 
tapestry.*  The  particulars,  or  details,  of  this  family  group 

In  paying  a  visit  to  a  family  of  English  Gipsies  in  the  United  States,  the 
head  of  the  family  said  to  me:  “You  must  really  excuse  us  to-day.  It's 
the  Faas  and  Baillies  over  again  ;  it  will  be  all  I  can  do  to  keep  them  from 
coming  to  blows.”  The  noise  inside  of  the  house  was  frightful.  There  had 
been  a  “  difficulty”  between  two  families  in  consequence  of  some  gossip  about 
one  of  the  parties  before  marriage,  which  the  families  were  sifting  to  the 
bottom. 

The  Faas  and  their  partisans,  on  reading  this  work,  will  not  overwell 
relish  the  prominence  given  to  the  Baillie  clan. — En. 

*  “  lie  will  be  pleased  to  learn  that  there  is,  in  the  house  of  Provost  Whyte, 
of  Kirkaldy,  a  piece  of  needle-work,  or  tapestry,  on  which  is  depicted,  by 
the  hands  of  Mrs.  Fall,  the  principal  events  in  the  life  of  the  founder  of  her 


238 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


were  derived  from  her  husband,  who  had  the  facts  from  his 
grandfather,  one  of  the  individuals  represented  in  the  piece. 
A  respectable  aged  gentleman,  yet  living  in  Dunbar,  has 
often  seen  this  family  piece  of  the  Falls,  and  had  its  details 
pointed  out  and  explained  to  him  by  Mrs.  Fall  herself.* 

The  mercantile  house  of  the  Falls,  at  Dunbar,  was  so  ex¬ 
tensive  as  to  have  many  connexions  in  the  ports  of  the  Baltic 
and  Mediterranean,  and  supported  so  high  a  character  that 
several  of  the  best  families  in  Scotland  sent  their  sons  to  it, 
to  be  initiated  in  the  mysteries  of  commerce.  Amongst 
others  who  were  bred  merchants  by  the  Falls,  were  Sir 
Francis  Kinloch,  and  two  sons  of  Sir  John  Anstruther.  It 
appears  that  the  Falls  were  most  honourable  men  in  all  their 
transactions  ;  and  that  the  cause  of  the  ruin  of  their  eminent 
firm  was  the  failure  of  some  considerable  mercantile  houses 
who  were  deeply  indebted  to  them. 

One  of  the  Misses  Fall  was  married  to  Sir  John  Ans¬ 
truther,  of  Elie,  baronet.  It  appears  that  this  alliance  with 
the  family  of  Fall  was  not  relished  bv  the  friends  of  Sir 
John,  of  his  own  class  in  society.  The  consequence  was 
that  Lady  Anstruther  was  not  so  much  respected,  and  did 
not  receive  those  attentions  from  her  neighbours,  to  which 

family,  from  the  clay  the  Gipsy  child  came  to  Dunbar  in  its  mother’s  creel, 
until  the  same  Gipsy  child  had  become,  by  its  own  honourable  exertions,  the 
head  of  the  first  mercantile  establishment  then  existing  in  Scotland.”  [This 
seems  to  be  an  extract  from  a  letter.  The  authority  has  been  omitted  in 
the  MS— Ed.] 

*  “  There  are,”  says  a  correspondent,  “  several  gentlemen  in  this  town  and 
neighbourhood  who  have  heard  declare,  that  the  Falls  themselves  had  often 
acknowledged  to  them  their  descent  from  the  Gipsy  Fans.  I  am  told  by 
an  old  Berwickshire  gentleman,  who  had  the  account  from  his  mother,  that 
the  Falls,  on  their  departure  from  Yetholm,  stopped  some  little  time  at  a 
country  village-hamlet  called  Hume,  in  Berwickshire,  where  they  had  some 
female  relations ;  and  after  a  few  days  spent  there,  they  set  out  for  Dunbar, 
taking  their  female  friends  along  with  them. 

“  Latterly,  the  late  Robert  and  Charles  Fall,  who  were  cousins,  kept  sep¬ 
arate  establishments.  Robert  possessed  the  dwelling  house  now  occupied 
by  Lord  Lauderdale ;  and  Charles  possessed  one  at  the  shore,  (now  the 
custom-house.)  built  on  the  spot  where  some  old  houses  formerly  stood,  and 
was  called  ‘  Lousy  Law.’  It  was  in  these  old  cot-houses  that  the  Falls 
first  took  up  their  residence  on  coming  to  Dunbar.  It  appears  the  mother 
of  the  first  of  the  Falls  who  came  to  Dunbar  was  a  woman  of  much  spirit 
and  great  activity.  Old  William  Faa,  the  chief  of  the  Gipsies  at  Yetholm, 
when  in  Lothian,  never  failed  to  visit  the  Dunbar  family,  as  his  relations. 
The  Dunbar  Falls  were  connected,  by  marriage,  with  the  Anstruthers, 
Footies,  of  Balgonie,  Coutts,  now  bankers,  and  with  Collector  Whyte,  of  the 
customs,  at  Kirkaldy,  and  Collector  Melville,  of  the  customs,  at  Dunbar.” 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


239 


her  rank,  as  Sir  John’s  wife,  gave  her  a  title.  The  tradition 
of  her  Gipsy  descent  was  fresh  in  the  memories  of  those  in 
the  vicinity  of  her  residence  ;  and  she  frequently  got  no 
other  name,  or  title,  when  spoken  of,  than  “  Jenny  Faa.” 
She  was,  however,  a  woman  of  great  spirit  and  activity. 
Her  likeness  was  taken,  and,  I  believe,  is  still  preserved  by 
the  family  of  Anstruther.* 

At  a  contested  election,  for  a  member  of  parliament,  for 
the  burghs  in  the  east  of  Fife,  in  which  Sir  John  was  a  can¬ 
didate,  his  opponents  thought  to  annoy  him,  and  his  active 
lady,  by  reference  to  the  Gipsy  origin  of  the  latter.  When¬ 
ever  Lady  Anstruther  entered  the  burghs,  during  the  canvass, 
the  streets  resounded  with  the  old  song  of  the  “  Gipsy 
Laddie.”  A  female  stepped  up  to  her  ladyship,  and  expressed 
her  sorrow  at  the  rabble  singing  the  song  in  her  presence. 
“  Oh,  never  mind  them,”  replied  Lady  Anstruther  ;  “  they  are 
only  repeating  what  they  hear  from  their  parents.”!  The 
following  is  the  song  alluded  to : 


JOHNNY  FAA,  THE  GIPSY  LADDIE. 

The  Gipsies  came  to  my  Lord  Cassilis’  yett, 
And  oh  !  but  they  sang  bonnie; 

They  sang  sae  sweet,  and  sae  compdete, 

That  down  came  our  fair  ladie. 


She  came  tripping  down  the  stair, 

And  all  her  maids  before  her ; 

As  soon  as  they  saw  her  weel-far’d  face 
They  coost  their  glamourie  owre  her. 


*  Speaking  of  a  gentleman  in  his  autobiography,  Dr.  Alexander  Carlyle, 
in  1744,  says:  “  He  had  the  celebrated  Jenny  Fall,  (afterwards  Lady  Ans¬ 
truther,)  a  coquette  and  a  beauty,  for  months  together  in  the  house  with 
him  ;  and  as  his  person  and  manners  drew  the  marked  attention  of  the 
ladies,  he  derived  considerable  improvement  from  the  constant  intercourse) 
with  this  young  lady  and  her  companions,  for  she  was  lively  and  clever, 
no  less  than  beautiful." — En. 

\  I  beg  the  reader  to  take  particular  notice  of  this  circumstance.  A 
Scotch  rabble  is  the  lowest  and  meanest  of  all  rabbles,  at  such  work  as 
this.  In  their  eyes,  it  was  unpardonable  that  Lady  Anstruther,  or  “Jenny 
Faa,”  should  have  been  of  Gipsy  origin  ;  but  it  would  have  horrified  them, 
had  they  known  the  meaning  of  her  ladyship  “  being  of  Gipsy  origin,”  and 
that  she  doubtless  “  chattered  Gipsy,”  like  others  of  her  tribe. — Ei>. 


240 


A  BISTORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


She  gave  to  them  the  good  -wheat  bread, 

And  they  gave  her  the  ginger; 

But  she  gave  them  a  far  better  thing, 

The  gold  ring  off  her  finger. 

“  Will  ye  go  wi’  me,  my  hinny  and  my  heart, 

Will  ye  go  wi’  me,  my  dearie; 

And  I  will  swear,  by  the  staff  of  my  spear, 

That  thy  lord  shall  nae  mair  come  near  thee.” 

“  Gar  take  from  me  my  silk  manteel, 

And  bring  to  me  a  plaidie ; 

For  I  will  travel  the  world  owre, 

Along  with  the  Gipsy  laddie. 

“  I  could  sail  the  seas  with  my  Joclcie  Faa, 

I  could  sail  the  seas  with  my  dearie ; 

I  could  sail  the  seas  with  my  Jockie  Faa, 

And  with  pleasure  could  drown  with  my  dearie.” 

They  wandered  high,  they  wandered  low, 

They  wandered  late  and  early, 

Until  they  came  to  an  old  tenant’s  barn, 

And  by  this  time  she  was  weary. 

“  Last  night  I  lay  in  a  weel-made  bed, 

And  my  noble  lord  beside  me ; 

And  now  I  must  lie  in  an  old  tenant’s  barn, 

And  the  black  crew  glowring  owre  me.” 

“  0  hold  your  tongue,  my  hinny  and  my  heart, 

O  hold  your  tongue,  my  dearie ; 

For  I  will  swear  by  the  moon  and  the  stars 
That  thy  lord  shall  nae  mair  come  near  thee.” 

They  wandered  high,  they  wandered  low, 

They  wandered  late  and  early, 

Until  they  came  to  that  wan  water, 

And  by  this  time  she  was*  weary. 

“  Aften  I  have  rode  that  wan  water, 

And  my  Lord  Cassilis  beside  me; 

And  now  I  must  set  in  my  white  feet,  and  wade, 
And  carry  the  Gipsy  laddie.” 

By-and-by  came  home  this  noble  lord, 

And  asking  for  his  ladie  ; 

The  one  did  cry,  the  other  did  reply, 

“  She  is  gone  with  the  Gipsy  laddie.” 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


241 


“  Go,  saddle  me  the  black,”  he  says, 

“  The  brown  rides  never  so  speedie; 

And  I  will  neither  eat  nor  drink 
Till  I  bring  home  my  ladie.” 

He  wandered  high,  he  wandered  low, 

He  wandered  late  and  early, 

Until  he  came  to  that  wan  water, 

And  there  he  spied  his  ladie. 

“  O  wilt  thou  go  home,  my  hinny  and  my  heart, 

O  wilt  thou  go  home,  my  dearie; 

And  I  will  close  thee  in  a  close  room 
Where  no  man  shall  come  near  thee.” 

“  I  will  not  go  home,  my  hinny  and  heart, 

I  will  not  come,  my  dearie  ; 

If  I  have  brewn  good  beer,  I  will  drink  of  the  same, 

And  my  lord  shall  nae  mair  come  near  me. 

“  But  I  will  swear  by  the  moon  and  the  stars, 

And  the  sun  that  shines  sae  clearly, 

That  I  am  as  free  of  the  Gipsy  gang 
As  the  hour  my  mother  did  bear  me.” 

They  were  fifteen  valiant  men, 

Black,  but  very  bonny, 

And  they  all  lost  their  lives  for  one, 

The  Earl  of  Cassilis’  ladie.  . 

Tradition  states  that  John  Faa,  the  leader  of  a  band  of 
Gipsies,  seizing  the  opportunity  of  the  Earl  of  Cassilis’  ab¬ 
sence,  on  a  deputation  to  the  Assembly  of  divines  at  West¬ 
minster,  in  1643,  to  ratify  the  solemn  league  and  covenant, 
carried  off  the  lady.  The  Earl  was  considered  a  sullen  and 
ill-tempered  man,  and  perhaps  not  a  very  agreeable  compan¬ 
ion  to  his  lady.* 

Before  proceeding  to  give  an  account  of  the  modern  Gip¬ 
sies  on  the  Scottish  Border,  1  shall  transcribe  an  interesting 
note  which  Sir  Walter  Scott  gave  to  the  public,  in  explain¬ 
ing  the  origin  of  that  singular  character  Meg  Merrilies,  in 
the  novel  Guy  Mannering.  The  illustrious  author  kindly 
offered  me  the  “  scraps”  which  he  had  already  given  to 
Blackwood’s  Magazine,  to  incorporate  them,  if  I  chose,  in 
my  history  of  the  Gipsies  ;  but  I  prefer  giving  them  in  his 
own  words. 

“  My  father,”  says  Sir  Walter,  “  remembered  Jean  Gor- 

*  Sec  page  108. — Ed. 


11 


242 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


don  of  Yctliolm,  who  had  a  great  sway  among  her  tribe. 
She  was  quite  a  Meg  Merrilies,  and  possessed  the  savage 
virtue  of  fidelity  in  the  same  perfection.  Having  been  hos¬ 
pitably  received  at  the  farm-house  of  Lochside,  near  Ycth- 
olm,  she  had  carefully  abstained  from  committing  any  depre¬ 
dations  on  the  farmer’s  property.  But  her  sons,  (nine  in 
number,)  had  not,  it  seems,  the  same  delicacy,  and  stole  a 
brood-sow  from  their  kind  entertainer.  Jean  was  so  much 
mortified  at  this  ungrateful  conduct,  and  so  much  ashamed 
of  it,  that  she  absented  herself  from  Lochside  for  several 
years.  At  length,  in  consequence  of  some  temporary  pecu¬ 
niary  necessity,  the  good-man  of  Lochside  was  obliged  to  go 
to  Newcastle,  to  get  some  money  to  pay  his  rent.  Return¬ 
ing  through  the  mountains  of  Cheviot,  he  was  benighted, 
and  lost  his  way.  A  light,  glimmering  through  the  window 
of  a  large  waste-barn,  which  had  survived  the  farm-house  to 
which  it  had  once  belonged,  guided  him  to  a  place  of  shel¬ 
ter  ;  and  when  he  knocked  at  the  door,  it  was  opened  by 
Jean  Gordon.  Her  very  remarkable  figure,  for  she  was 
nearly  six  feet  high,  and  her  equally  remarkable  features 
and  dress,  rendered  it  impossible  to  mistake  her  for  a  mo¬ 
ment  ;  and  to  meet  with  such  a  character,  in  so  solitary  a 
place,  and  probably  at  no  great  distance  from  her  clan,  was 
a  terrible  surprise  to  the  poor  man,  whose  rent,  (to  lose 
which  would  have  been  ruin  to  him,)  was  about  his  person. 
Jean  set  up  a  loud  shout  of  joyful  recognition.  1  Eh,  sirs  ! 
the  winsome  gude-man  of  Lochside  !  Light  down,  light 
down  ;  for  ye  manna  gang  farther  the  night,  and  a  friend’s 
house  sae  near !’  The  farmer  was  obliged  to  dismount,  and 
accept  of  the  Gipsy’s  offer  of  supper  and  a  bed.  There  was 
plenty  of  meat  in  the  barn,  however  it  might  be  come  by, 
and  preparations  were  going  on  for  a  plentiful  supper,  which 
the  farmer,  to  the  great  encrease  of  his  anxiety,  observed 
was  calculated  for  ten  or  twelve  guests  of  the  same  descrip¬ 
tion,  no  doubt,  with  his  landlady.  Jean  left  him  in  no  doubt 
on  the  subject.  She  brought  up  the  story  of  the  stolen  sow, 
and  noticed  how  much  pain  and  vexation  it  had  given  her. 
Like  other  philosophers,  she  remarked  that  the  world  grows 
worse  daily,  and,  like  other  parents,  that  the  bairns  got  out 
of  her  guiding,  and  neglected  the  old  Gipsy  regulations 
which  commanded  them  to  respect,  in  their  depredations,  the 
property  of  their  benefactors.  The  end  of  all  this  was  an 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


243 


enquiry  what  money  the  farmer  had  about  him,  and  ar.  ur¬ 
gent  request  that  he  would  make  her  his  purse-keeper,  as 
the  bairns,  as  she  called  her  sons,  would  be  soon  home.  The 
poor  farmer  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  told  his  story,  and 
surrendered  his  gold  to  Jean’s  custody.  She  made  him  put 
a  few  shillings  in  his  pocket  ;  observing  it  would  excite  sus¬ 
picion  should  he  be  found  travelling  altogether  penniless. 
This  arrangement  being  made,  the  farmer  lay  down  on  a 
sort  of  shake-down ,  as  the  Scotch  call  it,  upon  some  straw  ; 
but,  as  is  easily  to  be  believed,  slept  not.  About  midnight 
the  gang  returned  with  various  articles  of  plunder,  and 
talked  over  their  exploits,  in  language  which  made  the  far¬ 
mer  tremble.  They  were  not  long  in  discovering  their 
guest,  and  demanded  of  Jean  whom  she  had  got  there. 

‘  E’en  the  winsome  gude-man  of  Lochsidc,  poor  boy,’  replied 
Jean  ;  ‘  lie’s  been  at  Newcastle,  seeking  siller  to  pay  his  rent, 
honest  man,  but  deil-be-licket  lie’s  been  able  to  gather  in  ; 
and  sae  lie’s  gaun  e’en  liame  wi’  a  toom  purse  and  a  sail* 
heart.’  ‘That  may  be,  Jean,’  replied  one  of  the  banditti, 
but  we  maun  ripe  his  pouches  a  bit,  and  see  if  it  be  true  or 
no.’  Jean  set  up  her  throat  in  exclamation  against  this 
breach  of  hospitality,  but  without  producing  any  change  of 
their  determination.  The  farmer  soon  heard  their  stilled 
whispers  and  light  steps  by  his  bed-side,  and  understood 
they  were  rummaging  his  clothes.  When  they  found  the 
money  which  the  prudence  of  Jean  Gordon  had  made  him 
retain,  they  held  a  consultation  if  they  should  take  it  or  not ; 
but  the  smallness  of  the  booty,  and  the  vehemence  of  Jean’s 
remonstrances,  determined  them  on  the  negative.  They 
caroused,  and  went  to  rest.  So  soon  as  day  dawned,  Jean 
roused  her  guest,  produced  his  horse,  which  she  had  accom¬ 
modated  behind  the  kalian ,  and  guided  him  for  some  miles, 
till  he  was  on  the  high-road  to  Lochside.  She  then  restored 
his  whole  property,  nor  could  his  earnest  entreaties  prevail 
on  her  to  accept  so  much  as  a  single  guinea. 

“  I  have  heard  the  old  people  at  Jedburgh  say  that  all 
Jean’s  sons  were  condemned  to  die  there  on  the  same  day. 
It  is  said  the  jury  were  equally  divided,  but  that  a  friend  of 
justice,  who  had  slept  during  the  whole  discussion,  waked 
suddenly,  and  gave  his  vote  for  condemnation,  in  the  em¬ 
phatic  words  :  ‘  Hang  them  a’.’  Jean  was  present,  and 
only  said,  ‘The  Lord  help  the  innocent  in  a  day  like  this.’ 


244 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GirSIES. 


Her  own  death  was  accompanied  with  circumstances  of 
brutal  outrage,  of  which  poor  Jean  was,  in  many  respects, 
wholly  undeserving.  Jean  had,  among  other  demerits,  or 
merits,  as  you  may  choose  to  rank  it,  that  of  being  a  staunch 
Jacobite.  She  chanced  to  be  at  Carlisle,  upon  a  fair  or 
market  day,  soon  after  the  year  1746,  where  she  gave  vent 
to  her  political  partiality,  to  the  great  offence  of  the  rabble 
in  that  city.  Being  zealous  in  their  loyalty  when  there 
was  no  danger,  in  proportion  to  the  tameness  with  which 
they  had  surrendered  to  the  Highlanders,  in  1745,  they  in¬ 
flicted  upon  poor  Jean  Gordon  no  slighter  penalty  than  that 
of  ducking  her  to  death  in  the  Eden.  It  was  an  operation 
of  some  time,  for  Jean  was  a  stout  woman,  and,  struggling 
with  her  murderers,  often  got  her  head  above  water;  and, 
while  she  had  voice  left,  continued  to  exclaim,  at  such  inter¬ 
vals,  ‘  Charlie  yet !  Charlie  yet!’ 

“  When  a  child,  and  among  the  scenes  which  she  fre¬ 
quented,  I  have  often  heard  these  stories,  and  cried  piteously 
for  poor  Jean  Gordon. 

“Before  quitting  the  Border  Gipsies,  I  may  mention  that 
my  grandfather,  riding  over  Charter-house  moor,  theu  a  very 
extensive  common,  fell  suddenly  among  a  large  band  of 
them,  who  were  carousing  in  a  hollow  of  the  moor,  sur¬ 
rounded  by  bushes.  They  instantly  seized  on  his  horse’s 
bridle,  with  many  shouts  of  welcome,  exclaiming,  (for  he 
was  well  known  to  most  of  them,)  that  they  had  often  dined 
at  his  expense,  and  he  must  now  stay,  and  share  their  good- 
cheer.  My  ancestor  was  a  little  alarmed,  for,  like  the  good 
man  of  Lochside,  he  had  more  money  about  his  person  than 
he  cared  to  venture  with  into  such  society.  However,  be¬ 
ing  a  bold,  lively  man,  he  entered  into  the  humour  of  the 
thing,  and  satq  down  to  the  feast,  which  consisted  of  all  the 
different  varieties  of  game,  poultry,  pigs,  and  so  forth,  that 
could  be  collected  by  a  wide  and  indiscriminate  system  of 
plunder.  The  feast  was  a  very  merry  one,  but  my  relative 
got  a  hint,  from  some  of  the  elder  Gipsies,  to  retire  just 
when  ‘  The  mirth  and  fun  grew  fast  and  furious and, 
mounting  his  horse,  accordingly,  he  took  French  leave 
of  his  entertainers,  but  without  experiencing  the  least 
breach  of  hospitality.  I  believe  Jean  Gordon  was  at  this 
festival. 

“  The  principal  settlements  of  the  Gipsies,  in  my  time, 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


245 


have  been  the  two  villages  of  Easter  and  Wester  Gordon, 
and  what  is  called  Kirk-Yetholm, 

Making  good  the  proverb  odd, 

Near  the  church  and  far  from  God.” 

In  giving  an  account  of  the  modern  Gipsies  on  the  Scot¬ 
tish  Border,  I  shall  transcribe,  at  full  length,  the  faithful 
and  interesting  report  of  Baillie  Smith,  of  Kelso,  which  was 
published  in  Hoyland’s  “  Historical  Survey  of  the  Gipsies.” 

“  A  considerable  time,”  says  Mr.  Smith,  “  having  elapsed 
since  I  had  an  opportunity  or  occasion  to  attend  to  the 
situation  of  the  colony  ol  Gipsies  in  our  Neighbourhood,  I 
was  obliged  to  delay  my  answer  to  your  enquiries,  until  I 
could  obtain  more  information  respecting  their  present 
numbers. 

“  The  great  bar  to  the  benevolent  intentions  of  improving 
their  situation,  will  be  the  impossibility  to  convince  them 
that  there  either  is,  or  can  be,  a  mode  of  life  preferable,  or 
even  equal,  to  their  own. 

“  A  strong  spirit  of  independence,  or  what  they  would 
distinguish  by  the  name  of  liberty,  runs  through  the  whole 
tribe.  It  is,  no  doubt,  a  very  licentious  liberty,  but  entirely 
to  their  taste.  Some  kind  of  honour  peculiar  to  themselves 
seems  to  prevail  in  their  community.  They  reckon  it  a  dis¬ 
grace  to  steal  near  their  homes,  or  even  at  a  distance,  if  de¬ 
tected.  I  must  always  except  that  petty  theft  of  feeding 
their  shelties  and  asses,  on  the  farmer’s  grass  and  corn,  which 
they  will  do,  whether  at  home  or  abroad. 

“  When  avowedly  trusted,  even  in  money  matters,  they 
never  deceived  me,  nor  forfeited  their  promise.  I  am  sorry 
to  say,  however,  that  when  checked  in  their  licentious  appro¬ 
priations,  Ac.,  they  are  very  much  addicted  both  to  threaten 
and  to  execute  revenge. 

“  Having  so  far  premised  with  respect  to  their  general 
conduct  and  character,  I  shall  proceed  to  answer,  as  far  as  I 
am  able,  the  four  queries  subjoined  to  the  circular  which 
you  sent  me  ;  and  then  subjoin,  in  notes,  some  instances  of 
their  conduct  in  particular  cases,  which  may  perhaps  eluci¬ 
date  their  general  disposition  and  character. 

“  Query  1st.  What  number  of  Gipsies  in  the  county? 

11  Answer.  I  know  of  none  except  the  colony  of  Yetholm, 
and  one  family  who  lately  removed  from  that  place  to  Kelso. 


246 


A  BIST  OUT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Yctliolm  consists  of  two  towns,  or  large  villages,  called 
Town-Yctholm  and  Kirk-Yetholm.  The  first  is  in  the  estate 
of  Mr.  'Wauchope,  of  Niddry  ;  the  latter  in  that  of  the 
Marquis  of  Tweed-dale.  The  number  of  the  Gipsy  colony 
at  present  in  Kirk-Yetholm  amounts  to,  at  least,  109  men, 
women  and  children  ;  and  perhaps  two  or  three  may  have 
escaped  notice.  They  marry  early  in  life  ;  in  general  have 
many  children  ;  and  their  number  seems  to  be  encreasing. 

“  Query  2 cl.  In  what  do  the  men  and  women  mostly  employ 
themselves  ? 

“Answer.  I  have  known  the  colony  between  forty  and 
fifty  years.  At  my  first  remembrance  of  them,  they  were 
called  the  Tinlders  (Tinkers)  of  Yetholm,  from  the  males 
being  chiefly  then  employed  in  mending  pots  and  other  culin¬ 
ary  utensils,  especially  in  their  peregrinations  through  the 
hilly  and  less  frequented  parts  of  the  country.  Sometimes 
they  were  called  Horners ,  from  their  occupation  in  making 
and  selling  horn-spoons,  called  cutties.  Now,  their  common 
appellation  is  that  of  Muggers,  or,  what  pleases  them  better, 
Potters.  They  purchase,  at  a  cheap  rate,  the  cast  or  faulty 
articles  from  the  different  manufacturers  of  earthenware,  which 
they  carry  for  sale  all  over  the  country ;  consisting  of  groups 
of  six,  ten,  and  sometimes  twelve  or  fourteen  persons,  male 
and  female,  young  and  old,  provided  with  a  horse  and  cart, 
to  transport  the  pottery,  besides  shelties  and  asses,  to  carry 
the  youngest  of  the  children,  and  such  baggage  as  they  find 
necessary.  A  fetv  of  the  colony  also  employ  themselves, 
occasionally,  in  making  besoms,  foot-basses,  &c.,  from  heath, 
broom,  and  bent,  and  sell  them  at  Kelso  and  the  neighbour¬ 
ing  towns.  After  all,  their  employment  can  be  considered 
little  better  than  an  apology  for  idleness  and  vagrancy.  I 
do  not  see  that  the  women  are  otherwise  employed  than 
attending  the  young  children,  and  assisting  to  sell  the  pot¬ 
tery  when  carried  through  the  country. 

“  They  are,  in  general,  great  adepts  in  hunting,  shoot¬ 
ing  and  fishing ;  in  which  last  they  use  the  net  and  spear, 
as  well  as  the  rod ;  and  often  supply  themselves  with 
a  hearty  meal  by  their  dexterity.  They  have  no  notion  of 
being  limited  in  their  field  sports,  either  in  time,  place,  or 
mode  of  destruction.  In  the  country,  they  sleep  in  barns 
and  byres,  or  other  out-houses  ;  and  when  they  cannot  find 
that  accommodation,  they  take  the  canvas  covering  from  the 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


247 


pottery  cart  and  squat  below  it,  like  a  covey  of  partridges 
in  the  snow. 

“  Query  3d.  Have  they  any  settled  abode  in  winter,  and 
where  ? 

“  Ansiver.  Their  residence,  with  the  exception  of  a  single 
family,  who,  some  years  ago,  came  to  Kelso,  is  at  Kirk- 
Yetholm,  and  chiefly  confined  to  one  row  of  houses,  or 
street,  of  that  town,  which  goes  by  the  name  of  the  Tinkler 
Tote.  Most  of  them  have  leases  of  their  possessions, 
granted  for  a  term  of  nineteen  times  nineteen  years,  for  pay¬ 
ment  of  a  small  sum  yearly,  something  of  the  nature  of  a 
quit-rent.  There  is  no  tradition  in  the  neighbourhood  con¬ 
cerning  the  time  when  the  Gipsies  first  took  up  their  resi¬ 
dence  at  that  place,  nor  whence  they  came.  Most  of  their 
leases,  I  believe,  were  granted  by  the  family  of  the  Bennets, 
of  Grubit,  the  last  of  whom  was  Sir  David  Bonnet,  who  died 
about  sixty  years  ago.  The  late  Mr.  Nisbet,  of  Dirlton, 
then  succeeded  to  the  estate,  comprehending  the  baronies 
of  Kirk-Yetholm  and  Grubit.  He  died  about  the  year 
1783  ;  and  long  after,  the  property  was  acquired  by  the  late 
Lord  Tweed-dale’s  trustees.  During  the  latter  part  of  the 
life  of  the  late  Mr.  Nisbet,  he  was  less  frequently  at  his 
estate  in  Roxburghshire  than  formerly.  He  was  a  great 
favourite  of  the  Gipsies,  and  was  in  use  to  call  them  his 
body-guards,  and  often  gave  them  money,  <tc. 

“  On  the  other  hand,  both  the  late  and  present  Mr.  Waucli- 
ope  were  of  opinion  that  the  example  of  these  people  had 
a  bad  effect  upon  the  morals  and  industry  of  the  neighbour¬ 
hood  ;  and  seeing  no  prospect  of  their  removal,  and  as  little 
of  their  reformation,  considered  it  as  a  duty  to  the  public 
to  prevent  the  evil  encreasing  ;  and  never  would  consent  to 
any  of  the  colony  taking  up  their  residence  in  Yortui- Ye  tholm. 

“They  mostly  remain  at  home  during  winter,  but  as  soon 
as  the  weather  becomes  tolerably  mild,  in  spring,  most  of 
them,  men,  women  and  children,  set  out  on  their  peregrina¬ 
tions  over  the  country  ;  and  live  in  a  state  of  vagrancy,  until 
driven  into  their  habitations  by  the  approach  of  winter. 

“  Seeming  to  pride  themselves  as  a  separate  tribe,  they 
very  seldom  intermarry  out  of  the  colony  ;  and,  in  rare  in¬ 
stances,  when  that  happens,  the  Gipsy,  whether  male  or 
female,  by  influence  and  example,  always  induces  the  stranger 
husband,  or  wife,  to  adopt  the  manners  of  the  colony  ;  so 


248 


A  ms  TOUT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


that  no  improvement  is  ever  obtained  in  that  way.  The 
progeny  of  such  alliances  have  almost  universally  the  tawny 
complexion,  and  fine  black  eyes,  of  the  Gipsy  parent,  whether 
father  or  mother.  So  strongly  remarkable  is  the  Gipsy  cast 
of  countenance,  that  even  a  description  of  them  to  a  stranger, 
who  has  had  no  opportunity  of  formerly  seeing  them,  will 
enable  him  to  know  them  whenever  lie  meets  them.  Some 
individuals,  but  very  rarely,  separate  from  the  colony  alto¬ 
gether  ;  and  when  they  do  so,  early  in  life,  and  go  to  a  dis¬ 
tance,  such  as  London,  or  even  Edinburgh,  their  acquaint¬ 
ances  in  the  country  get  favourable  accounts  of  them.  A 
few  betake  themselves  to  regular  and  constant  employments 
at  home,  but  soon  tire,  and  return  to  their  old  way  of  life. 

“  When  any  of  them,  especially  a  leader,  or  man  of  influ¬ 
ence,  dies,  they  have  full  meetings,  not  only  of  the  colony, 
but  of  the  Gipsies  from  a  distance  ;  and  those  meetings,  or 
late-zvalces,  are  by  no  means  conducted  with  sobriety  or 
decency. 

“  Query  4 tli.  Are  any  of  their  children  taught  to  read,  and 
what  portion  of  them?  With  any  anecdotes  respecting 
their  customs  and  conduct. 

“  Answer.  Education  being  obtained  at  a  cheaper  rate, 
the  Gipsies,  in  general,  give  their  male  children  as  good  a 
one  as  is  bestowed  on  those  of  the  labouring  people,  and 
farm  servants,  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  such  as  reading,  writ¬ 
ing,  and  the  first  principles  of  arithmetic.  They  all  apply 
to  the  clergyman  of  the  parish  for  baptism  to  their  children  ; 
and  a  strong,  superstitious  notion  universally  prevails  with 
them,  that  it  is  unlucky  to  have  an  unchristened  child  in  the 
house.  Only  a  very  few  ever  attend  divine  service,  and 
those  as  seldom  as  they  can,  just  to  prevent  being  refused  as 
sponsors  at  their  children’s  baptism. 

“  They  are,  in  general,  active  and  lively,  particularly  when 
engaged  in  field  sports,  or  in  such  temporary  pursuits  as  are 
agreeable  to  their  habits  and  dispositions  ;  but  are  destitute 
of  the  perseverance  necessary  for  a  settled  occupation,  or 
even  for  finishing  what  a  moderate  degree  of  continued 
labour  would  enable  them  to  accomplish  in  a  few  weeks. 

“  I  remember  that,  about  45  years  ago,  being  then  appren¬ 
ticed  to  a  writer,  who  was  in  use  to  receive  the  rents  and 
the  small  duties  of  Kirk-Yetholm,  he  sent  me  there  with  a 
list  of  names,  and  a  statement  of  what  was  due,  recommend- 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


249 


in, a;  me  to  apply  to  the  landlord  of  the  public-house,  in  the 
village,  for  any  information  or  assistance  which  I  might 
need, 

“After  waiting  a  long  time,  and  receiving  payment  from 
most  of  the  feuers,  or  rentalers,  I  observed  to  him,  that  none 
of  the  persons  of  the  names  of  Faa,  Young, Blythe,  Fluckie, 
&c.,  who  stood  at  the  bottom  of  the  list,  for  small  sums,  had 
come  to  meet  me,  according  to  the  notice  given  by  the  baron- 
officer,  and  proposed  sending  to  inform  them  that  they  were 
detaining  me,  and  to  request  their  immediate  attendance, 

“  The  landlord, with  a  grave  face,  enquired  whether  my 
master  had  desired  me  to  ask  money  from  those  men.  I 
said,  not  particularly  ;  but  they  stood  on  the  list.  ‘  So  I 
see,’  said  the  landlord  ;  ‘  but  had  your  master  been  here  him¬ 
self,  he  did  not  dare  to  ask  money  from  them,  either  as  rent 
or  feu  duty.  He  knows  that  it  is  as  good  as  if  it  were  in 
his  pocket.  They  will  pay  when  their  own  time  comes,  but 
do  not  like  to  pay  at  a  set  time,  with  the  rest  of  the  barony, 
and  still  less  to  be  craved.’ 

“  I  accordingly  returned  without  their  money,  and  reported 
progress.  I  found  that  the  landlord  was  right :  my  master 
said,  with  a  smile,  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  send  to  them, 
after  the  previous  notice  from  the  baron-officer  ;  it  was 
enough  if  1  had  received  the  money,  if  offered.  Their  rent 
and  feu  duty  was  brought  to  the  office  in  a  few  weeks. 
I  need  scarcely  add  that  those  persons  all  belonged  to  the 
tribe. 

“  Another  instance  of  their  licentious,  independent  spirit 
occurs  to  me.  The  family  of  Niddry  always  gave  a  decent 
annual  remuneration  to  a  baron-baillie,  for  the  purpose  of 
keeping  good  order  within  the  barony  of'Town-Yetholm. 
The  person  whom  I  remember  first  in  possession  of  that 
office  was  an  old  man,  called  Doctor  Walker,  from  his  being 
also  the  village  surgeon  ;  and  from  him  I  had  the  following 
anecdote : 

“  Between  Yetholm  and  the  Border  farms,  in  Northum¬ 
berland,  there  were  formerly,  as  in  most  Border  situations, 
some  uncultivated  lands,  called  the  Plea-lands,  or  Debata¬ 
ble-lands,  the  pasturage  of  which  was  generally  eaten  up 
by  the  sorners  and  vagabonds,  on  both  sides  of  the  marches. 
Many  years  ago,  Lord  Tankerville  and  some  others  of  the 
English  Borderers  made  their  request  to  Sir  David  Bennet, 
11* 


250 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


and  the  late  Mr.  Wanchope,  of  Niddry,  that  they  would  ac¬ 
company  them  at  a  riding  of  the  Plea-lands,  who  readily 
complied  with  their  request.  They  were  induced  to  this,  as 
they  understood  that  the  Gipsies  had  taken  offence,  on  the 
supposition  that  they  might  be  circumscribed  in  the  pastur¬ 
age  for  their  shelties  and  asses,  which  they  had  held  a  long 
time,  partly  by  stealth,  and  partly  by  violence. 

“Both  threats  and  entreaties  were  employed  to  keep  them 
away  ;  and,  at  last,  Sir  David  obtained  a  promise  from  some 
of  the  heads  of  the  gang,  that  none  of  them  should  show 
their. faces  on  the  occasion.  They,  however,  got  upon  the 
hills,  at  a  little  distance,  whence  they  could  see  everything 
that  passed.  At  first  they  were  very  quiet.  But  when 
they  saw  the  English  court-book  spread  out,  on  a  cushion, 
before  the  clerk,  and  apparently  him  taking  in  a  line  of 
direction,  interfering  with  what  they  considered  to  be  their 
privileged  ground,  it  was  with  great  difficulty  that  the  most 
moderate  of  them  could  restrain  the  rest  from  running  down 
and  taking  vengeance,  even  in  sight  of  their  own  lord  of  the 
manor. 

“  They  only  abstained  for  a  short  time  ;  and  no  sooner 
had  Sir  David  and  the  other  gentlemen  taken  leave  of  each 
other,  in  the  most  polite  and  friendly  manner,  as  Border 
chiefs  were  wont  to  do,  since  Border  feuds  ceased,  and  had 
departed  to  a  sufficient  distance,  than  the  clan,  armed  with 
bludgeons,  pitchforks,  and  such  other  hostile  weapons  as 
they  could  find,  rushed  down  in  a  body,  and  before  the  chiefs 
on  either  side  had  reached  their  home,  there  was  neither 
English  tenant,  horse,  cow  nor  sheep  left  upon  the  premises. 

“  Meeting  at  Kelso,  with  Mr.  Walter  Scott,  whose  dis¬ 
criminating  habits  and  just  observations  I  had  occasion  to 
know,  from  his  youth,  and,  at  the  same  time,  seeing  one  of 
my  Yetholm  friends  in  the  horse-market,  I  said  to  Mr.  Scott, 
‘  Try  to  get  before  that  man  with  the  long  drab  coat,  look 
at  him  on  your  return,  and  tell  me  whether  you  ever  saw 
him,  and  what  you  think  of  him.’  He  was  as  good  as  to  in¬ 
dulge  me  ;  and,  rejoining  me,  he  said,  without  hesitation  : 

‘  I  never  saw  the  man  that  I  know  of ;  but  he  is  one  of  the 
Gipsies  of  Yetholm,  that  you  told  me  of,  several  years  ago.’ 
X  need  scarcely  say  that  he  was  perfectly  correct. 

“  When  first  I  knew  anything  about  the  colony,  old  Will 
Faa  was  king,  or  leader  ;  and  had  held  the  sovereignty 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


251 


for  many  years.  The  descendants  of  Faa  now  take  the 
name  of  Fall,  from  the  Messrs.  Fall,  of  Dunbar,  who,  they 
pride  themselves  in  saying,  are  of  the  same  stock  and  line¬ 
age.  When  old  Will  Faa  was  upwards  of  eighty  years  of 
age,  he  called  on  me,  at  Kelso,  on  his  way  to  Edinburgh, 
telling  me  that  he  was  going  to  see  the  laird,  the  late  Mr. 
Nisbct,  of  Dirlton,  as  he  understood  that  he  was  very  unwell  ; 
and  he  himself  being  now  old,  and  not  so  stout  as  he  had 
been,  lie  wished  to  see  him  once  more  before  he  died.  He 
set  out  by  the  nearest  road,  which  was  by  no  means  his  com¬ 
mon  practice.  Next  market-day,  some  of  the  farmers  in¬ 
formed  me  that  they  had  been  in  Edinburgh,  and  seen  Will 
Faa,  upon  the  bridge,  (the  south  bridge  was  not  then  built ;) 
that  he  was  tossing  about  his  old  brown  hat,  and  huzzaing, 
with  great  vociferation,  that  he  had  seen  the  laird  before  he 
died.  Indeed,  Will  himself  had  no  time  to  lose  ;  for,  having 
set  his  face  homewards,  by  the  way  of  the  sea-coast,  to  vary 
his  route,  as  is  the  general  custom  of  the  gang,  he  only  got 
the  length  of  Coldingham,  when  he  was  taken  ill  and  died. 

“  His  death  being  notified  to  his  friends  at  Yetholm,  they 
and  their  acquaintances  at  Berwick,  Spittal,  Horncliff,  &c., 
met  to  pay  the  last  honours  to  their  old  leader.  His  obse¬ 
quies  were  continued  three  successive  days  and  nights,  and 
afterwards  repeated  at  Yetholm,  whither  he  was  brought.  I 
cannot  say  that  the  funeral  rites  were  celebrated  with  de¬ 
cency  and  sobriety,  for  that  was  by  no  means  the  case.  This 
happened  in  the  year  1783,  or  1784,  and  the  late  Mr.  Nis- 
bet  did  not  long  survive.”* 

In  addition  to  the  above  graphic  report  of  Baillie  Smith, 
I  will  now  give  a  few  details  from  a  MS.,  given  to  me  by 
Mr.  Blackwood,  towards  the  elucidation  of  the  history  of 
the  Gipsies.  This  MS.  bears  the  initials  of  A.  W.,  and  ap¬ 
pears  to  have  been  written  by  a  gentleman  who  had  ample 
opportunities  of  observing  the  manners  of  the  Border  Gip¬ 
sies. 

*  When  Mr.  Iloyland  commenced  making  enquiries  into  the  condition  of 
the  Gipsies,  he  addressed  circulars  to  the  sheriffs,  for  information.  No  less 
than  thirteen  Scotch  sheriffs  reported,  “  No  Gipsies  within  the  county.* 
A  report  of  this  kind  was  nearly  as  good  as  would  be  that  of  a  cockney,  as 
to  their  being  no  foxes  in  the  country ;  because,  while  riding  through  it,  on 
the  stage,  he  did  not  see  any  !  Baillie  Smith’s  report,  although  graphic,  is 
superficial.  He  states  that  the  Gipsies  “  marry  early  in  life,  and  in  general 
have  many  children  yet  “  that  their  number  seems  to  be  encreasing.” — Ed. 


252 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


“  I  am  a  native  of  Yetliolm  parish,  and  a  residenter  in  it, 
with  a  little  exception,  for  upwards  of  fifty  years.  I  well 
remember  Kirk  -  Yetliolm,  when  the  Faas  and  Youngs 
alone  had  a  footing  in  it.*  The  Taits  came  next.,  and  lat¬ 
terly,  at  various  periods,  the  Douglasses,  Blyths,  Montgom¬ 
erys,  &c.  Old  William  Faa,  (with  whom  I  was  well  ac¬ 
quainted,  and  saw  him  married  to  his  third  wife,f)  con¬ 
stantly  claimed  kindred  with  the  Falls  of  Dunbar  ;  and  per¬ 
sisted,  to  the  last,  that  he  himself  was  the  male  descendant, 
in  a  direct  line,  from  the  Earl  of  Little  Egypt.  For  many 
years  before  his  death,  Mr.  Nisbet  of  Dirlton,  (the  then  laird 
of  Kirk-Yetholm,)  gave  him  the  charge  of  his  house,  at 
Marlfield,  and  all  its  furniture,  although  he  resided  six  miles 
distant  from  it.  The  key  of  the  principal  door  was  regu¬ 
larly  delivered  to  him,  at  the  laird’s  departure.  I  remember 
a  sale  of  wood  at  Cherry-trees,  belonging  to  the  late  Sheriff 
Murray.  William  Faa  was  a  purchaser  at  the  roup,  and 
the  sheriff  proclaimed  aloud  to  the  clerk,  that  he  would  be 
Mr.  Faa’s  cautioner.  All  the  Tinklers  in  the  village,  and 
even  strangers  resorting  thither,  considered  William  Faa 
as  the  head  and  leader  of  the  whole.  His  corpse  was  es- 

*  The  tribe  of  Young  have  preserved  the  following  tradition  respecting 
their  first  settlement  in  Yetliolm  :  At  a  siege  of  the  city  of  Namur,  (date 
unknown,)  the  laird  of  Kirk-Yetholm,  of  the  ancient  family  of  Bennets,  of 
Grubit  and  Marlfield,  in  attempting  to  mount  a  breach,  at  the  head  of  his 
company,  was  struck  to  the  ground,  and  all  his  followers  killed,  or  put  to 
flight,  except  a  Gipsy,  the  ancestor  of  the  Youngs,  who  resolutely  defended 
his  master  till  he  recovered  his  feet,  and  then,  springing  past  him  upon  the 
rampart,  seized  a  flag  which  he  put  into  his  leader’s  hand.  The  besieged 
were  struck  with  panic — the  assailants  rushed  again  to  the  breach — Na¬ 
mur  was  taken,  and  Captain  Bennet  had  the  glory  of  the  capture.  On  re¬ 
turning  to  Scotland,  the  laird,  out  of  gratitude  to  his  faithful  follower,  set¬ 
tled  him  and  his  family,  (who  had  formerly  been  travelling  tinkers  and 
heckle-makers,)  in  Kirk-Yetholm ;  and  conferred  upon  them,  and  the  Faas, 
a  feu  of  their  cottages,  for  the  space  of  nineteen  times  nineteen  years; 
which  they  still  hold  from  the  Marquis  of  Tweed-dale,  the  present  proprie¬ 
tor  of  the  estate. — Blackwood's  Magazine. — Ed. 

f  On  solemn  occasions,  Will  Faa  assumed,  in  his  way,  all  the  stately 
deportment  of  sovereignty.  He  had  twenty-four  children,  and  at  each  of 
their  christenings  he  appeared,  dressed  in  his  original  wedding-robes.  These 
christenings  were  celebrated  with  no  small  parade.  Twelve  young  hand¬ 
maidens  were  always  present,  as  part  of  the  family  retinue,  and  for  the  pur¬ 
pose  of  waiting  on  the  numerous  guests,  who  assembled  to  witness  the  cere¬ 
mony,  or  partake  of  the  subsequent  festivities.  Besides  Will’s  Gipsy 
associates,  several  of  the  neighbouring  farmers  and  lairds,  with  whom  he 
wras  on  terms  of  friendly  intercourse,  (among  others,  the  Murrays,  of  Cher¬ 
ry-trees,)  used  to  attend  these  christenings. — Blackwood's  Magazine. — Ed. 


BORDER  GIPSIES. 


253 


corted  betwixt  Coldstream  and  Yetholm  by  above  three 
hundred  asses. 

“  He  was  succeeded  by  his  eldest  son  William,  one  of  the 
cleverest  fellows  upon  the  Border.  For  agility  of  person, 
and  dexterity  in  every  athletic  exercise,  he  had  rarely  met 
with  a  competitor.  He  had  a  younger  brother  impressed, 
when  almost  a  boy.  He  deserted  from  his  ship,  in  India  ; 
enlisted  as  a  soldier,  and,  by  dint  of  merit,  acquired  a  com¬ 
mission  in  a  regular  regiment  of  foot,  and  died  a  lieutenant, 
within  these  thirty  years,  at  London.  He  was  an  officer  un¬ 
der  Governor  Wall,  at  Goree,  when  he  committed  the  crime 
for  which  he  suffered,  twenty  years  after,  in  England. 

“  It  was  the  present  William  Faa  that  the  ‘  Earl  of 
Hell’  contended  with  ;  not  for  sovereignty,  but  to  revenge 
some  ancient  animosity.*  His  lordship  lives  at  Hew  Cold¬ 
stream,  and  was  the  onlyperson  in  Berwickshire  that  durst  en¬ 
counter,  in  single  combat,  the  renowned  Bully-More.  Young 
fought  three  successive  battles  with  Faa,  and  one  desper¬ 
ate  engagement  with  More,  midway  between  Dunse  and 
Coldstream  ;  and  was  defeated  in  all  of  them.  He  is  a 
younger  son  of  William  Young,  of  Yetholm,  the  eotempo- 
rary  chieftain  of  old  William  Faa.  It  was  still  a  younger 
brother  that  migrated  to  Kelso,  where  he  supported  a  good 
character  till  he  died.  Charles  Young,  the  eldest  brother,  is 
still  alive,  and  chief  of  the  name.  The  following  anecdote  of 
him  will  serve  to  establish  his  activity. 

“  Mr.  Walker,  of  Thirkstane,  the  only  residing  heritor  in 
Yetholm  parish,  missed  a  valuable  mare,  upon  a  Sunday 
morning.  After  many  fruitless  enquiries,  at  the  adjacent 
kirks  and  neighbourhood,  he  dispatched  a  servant  for 
Charles,  in  the  evening.  He  privately  communicated  to  him 
his  loss,  and  added,  that  he  was  fully  persuaded  he  could 
be  the  means  of  recovering  the  mare.  Charles  boldly  an¬ 
swered,  ‘  If  she  was  betwixt  the  Tyne  and  the  Forth,  she 
should  be  restored.’  On  the  Thursday  after,  at  sunrise,  the 
mare  was  found  standing  at  the  stable  door,  much  jaded,  and 
very  warm. 

“  When  the  Kirk-Yetholm  families  differed  among  them- 

*  This  is  in  contradiction  to  the  assertion,  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  that, 
on  the  death  of  Ids  father,  a  sort  of  civil  war  broke  out  among  the  Yetholm 
Gipsies ;  and  that  the  usurper  of  the  regal  office  was  dispossessed,  after  a 
battle,  by  the  subjects  who  adhered  to  the  legitimate  heir. — Ed. 


254 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


selves,  (and  terrible  conflicts  at  times  they  had,) this  same 
Mr.  Walker  was  often  chosen  sole  arbitrator,  to  decide  their 
differences.  He  has  often  been  locked  up  in  their  houses 
for  twenty-four  hours  together,  but  carefully  concealed  their 
secrets.* 

“  The  Yetholm  Tinklers  keep  up  an  intercourse  with  their 
friends  at  Horncliff,  Spittal,  Rothbury,  Hexam,  and  liar- 
bottle.  They  go  frequently  to  Newcastle,  and  even  to  Staf¬ 
fordshire,  for  earthenware,  and  the  wfliole  family  embark  in 
every  expedition. 

“  I  was  at  school  with  most  of  the  present  generation  of 
Tinklers.  I  mean  the  males  ;  for,  to  speak  truth,  I  never 
heard  of  a  female  Gipsy  being  educated  at  all. 

“  None  of  this  colony  have  been  either  impeached  or  tried 
for  a  crime  for  fifty  years  past.  Two  Tinklers  have  been 
executed  at  Jedburgh,  in  my  remembrance,  named  Keith  and 
Clark,  for  murder  and  horse-stealing.  They  were  strangers, 
from  a  distance.” 

When  I  visited  Yetholm,  I  fell  in  with  a  gentleman  who 
resided  at  that  time  in  Town-Yetholm.  I  chanced  to  men¬ 
tion  to  him  that  I  was  sure  all  the  Gipsies  had  a  method  of 
their  own  in  handling  the  cudgel,  but  he  would  not  believe 
it.  At  my  request,  lie  took  me  into  some  of  their  houses, 
and,  observing  an  old,  rusty  sword  lying  upon  the  joists  of 
an  apartment  in  which  we  were  sitting,  I  took  it  down,  and, 
under  pretence  of  handling  it,  in  their  fashion,  gave  some  of 
the  guards  of  the  Hungarian  sword-exercise.  An  old  Gipsy, 
of  the  name  of  Blyth,  shook  his  head,  and  observed  :  “  Ay, 

*  There  would  appear  to  be  something  remarkable  in  the  position  which 
this  Mr.  Walker  held  with  the  Gipsies.  I  know,  from  the  best  of  authority, 
that  most  of  the  people  living  in  and  about  Yetholm  are  Gipsies,  settled  or 
unsettled,  civilized  or  uncivilized,  educated  or  uneducated  ;  and  of  one  in 
particular,  who  went  under  the  title  of  “  Lord  Mayor  of  Yetholm.”  He 
is  now  dead.  The  above  mentioned  Mr.  Walker  was  probably  a  relation 
of  Dr.  Walker,  mentioned  by  Baillie  Smith,  as  the  baron-baillie  of  Yetholm. 
1  notice  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  that  one  William  Walker,  a  Gipsy,  in 
company  with  various  Yetholm  Gipsies,  was  indicted  at  Jedburgh,  in 
1714,  for  fire-raising,  but  was  acquitted.  The  Walkers  alluded  to  in  the 
text  are  very  probably  of  the  same  family,  settled,  and  raised  in  the  world. 
As  I  have  just  said,  most  of  the  people  in  and  about  Yetholm  are  Gipsies. 
Gipsydom  has  even  eaten  its  way  in  among  the  population  round  about 
Yttholm.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Baird,  in  conducting  the  Scottish  Church  Mission 
among  the  travelling  Gipsies,  hailing  from  Yetholm,  doubtless  encountered 
many  of  them  incog.  But  all  this  will  be  better  understood  by  the  reader 
after  he  peruses  the  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. — Ed. 


BOEDER  GIPSIES. 


255 


that  is  an  art  easily  carried  about  with  you  ;  it  maybe  of 
service  to  you  some  day.”  My  friend  was  then  convinced 
of  his  mistake. 

William  Faa,  when  I  was  in  his  house,  showed  me  the 
mark  of  a  stroke  of  a  sword  on  his  right  wrist,  by  which  he 
had  nearly  lost  his  hand.  With  others  of  his  clan,  he  had 
been  engaged  in  a  smuggling  speculation,  on  the  coast  of 
Northumberland,  when  they  were  overtaken  by  a  party  of 
dragoons,  one  of  whom  singled  out  and  attempted  to  take 
Faa  prisoner.  William  was  armed  with  a  stick  only,  but, 
with  his  stick  in  his  dexterous  hand,  he,  for  a  long  time,  set 
the  dragoon,  with  all  his  arms,  at  defiance.  The  horseman, 
now  galloping  round  and  round  him,  attempting  to  capture 
him,  became  exasperated  at  the  resistance  of  a  man  on  foot, 
armed  with  a  cudgel  only,  and  struck  with  such  vigour  that 
the  cudgel  became  shattered,  and  cut  in  pieces,  till  nothing 
but  a  few  inches  of  it  remained.  Still  holding  up  the  stump, 
to  meet  the  stroke  of  his  antagonist’s  sword,  William  was 
cut  to  the  bone,  and  compelled  to  yield  himself  a  prisoner. 
A  person,  present  at  the  scuffle,  informed  me  that  the  only 
remark  the  brave  Tinkler  made  to  the  dragoon  was,  “  Ye’ve 
spoiled  a  good  fiddler.” 

William  Faa,  the  lineal  descendant  of  John  Faw,  “  Lord 
and  Earl  of  Little  Egypt,”  when  I  saw  him,  appeared  about 
sixty  years  of  age,  and  was  tall  and  genteel-looking,  with 
grey  hair,  and  dark  eyes.  He  is  the  individual  who  fought 
the  three  battles  with  Young,  between  Dunso  and  Cold¬ 
stream.  The  following  notice  of  his  death  I  have  extracted 
from  the  “  Scotsman”  newspaper,  of  the  20th  October,  1847  : 

“A  LAMENT  FOR  WILL  FAA, 

“THE  DECEASED  KING  OF  LITTLE  EGYPT. 

“  The  daisy  has  faded,  the  yellow  leaf  drops  ; 

The  cold  sky  looks  grey  o’er  the  shrivelled  tree-tops  ; 

And  many  around  us,  since  Summer’s  glad  birth, 

Have  dropt,  like  the  old  leaves,  into  the  cold  earth. 

And  one  worth  remembering  hath  gone  to  the  home 
Where  the  king  and  the  kaiser  must  both  at  last  come, 

The  King  of  the  Gipsies — the  last  of  a  name* 

Which  in  Scotland’s  old  story  is  rung  on  by  fame. 

The  cold  clod  ne’er  pressed  down  a  manlier  breast 
Than  that  of  the  old  man  now  gone  to  his  rest. 

*  Will  Faa  had  a  brother,  a  house-carpcnter,  in  New  York,  who  survived 


256 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


“  It  is  meet  we  remember  him ;  never  again 
Will  such  foot  as  old  Will’s  kick  a  ball  o’er  the  plain, 

Or  such  hand  as  his,  warm  with  the  warmth  of  the  soul, 

Bid  us  welcome  to  Yetliolm,  to  bicker  and  bowl. 

Oh,  the  voice  that  could  make  the  air  tremble  and  ring 
With  the  great-hearted  gladness  becoming  a  king, 

Is  silent,  is  silent ;  oh,  wail  for  the  day 

When  Death  took  the  Border  King,  brave  Willie  Faa. 

“  No  dark  Jcddart  prison  e’er  closed  upon  him, 

The  last  lord  of  Egypt  ne’er  wore  gyve  on  limb. 

Though  his  grey  locks  were  crownless,  the  light  of  his  eye 
Was  kingly— his  bearing  majestic  and  high. 

Though  his  hand  held  no  sceptre,  the  stranger  can  tell 
That  the  full  bowl  of  welcome  became  it  as  well ; 

The  fisher  or  rambler,  by  river  or  brae, 

Ne’er  from  old  Willie’s  liallan  went  empty  away. 

“  In  the  old  house  of  Yetliolm  we’ve  sat  at  the  board, 

The  guest,  highly  honoured,  of  Egypt’s  old  lord, 

And  mark’d  his  eye  glisten  as  oft  as  he  told 
Of  his  feats  on  the  Border,  his  prowess  of  old. 

It  is  meet,  when  that  dark  eye  in  death  hath  grown  dim, 
That  we  sing  a  last  strain  in  remembrance  of  him. 

The  fame  of  the  Gipsy  hath  faded  away 

With  the  breath  from  the  brave  heart  of  gallant  Will  Faa.” 

him  a  few  years.  He  was  considered  a  fine  old  man  by  those  who  knew 
him.  He  left  a  family  in  an  humble,  but  respectable,  way  of  doing.  The 
Scottish  Gipsy  throne  was  occupied  by  another  family  of  Gipsies,  in  conse¬ 
quence  of  this  family  being  “  forth  of  Scotland.”  There  are  a  great  many 
Faas,  under  one  name  or  other,  scattered  over  the  world. — Ed 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 

The  Gipsies  in  Scotland  are  all  married  at  a  very  eaily 
age.  I  do  not  recollect  ever  having  seen  or  heard  of  them, 
male  or  female,  being  unmarried,  after  they  were  twenty 
years  old.  There  are  few  instances  of  bastard  children 
among  them  ;  indeed,  they  declare  that  their  children  are  all 
born  in  wedlock.*  I  know,  however,  of  one  instance  to  the 
contrary  ;  and  of  the  Gipsy  being  dreadfully  punished  for 
seducing  a  young  girl  of  his  own  tribe. 

The  brother  of  the  female,  who  was  pregnant,  took  upon 
himself  the  task  of  chastising  the  offender.  With  a  knife  in  his 
hand,  and  at  the  dead  hour  of  night,  he  went  to  the  house <2 
of  the  seducer.  The  first  thing  he  did  was  deliberately  to 
sharpen  his  knife  upon  the  stone  posts  of  the  door  of  the 
man’s  house  ;  and  then,  in  a  gentle  manner,  tap  at  the  door, 
to  bring  out  his  victim.  The  unsuspecting  man  came  to  the 
door,  in  his  shirt,  to  see  what  was  wanted  ;  but  the  saluta¬ 
tion  he  received  was  the  knife  thrust  into  his  body,  and  the 
stabs  repeated  several  times.  The  avenger  of  his  sister’s 
wrongs  fled  for  a  short  while  ;  the  wounded  Tinkler  recov¬ 
ered,  and,  to  repair  the  injury  he  had  done,  made  the  girl 
his  wife.  The  occurrence  took  place  in  Mid-Lothian,  about 
twenty  years  ago.  The  name  of  the  woman  was  Baillie,  and 
her  husband,  Tait. 

*  There  is  one  word  in  the  Gipsy  language  to  which  is  attached  more 
importance  than  to  any  otherthing  whatever — Ldcha — the  corporeal  chas¬ 
tity  of  woman ;  the  loss  of  which  she  is,  from  childhood,  taught  to  dread. 

'Jo  ensure  its  preservation,  the  mother  will  have  occasion  to  the  Bide — a 
hind  of  drapery  which  she  ties  around  the  daughter  ;  and  which  is  never 
removed,  but  continually  inspected,  till  the  day  of  marriage;  but  not  for 
fear  of  the  “  stranger”  or  the  “  white  blood.”  A  girl  is  generally  betrothed 
at  fourteen,  and  never  married  till  two  years  afterward.  Betrothal  is  in¬ 
variable.  But  the  parties  are  never  permitted,  previous  to  marriage,  to 
have  any  intimate  associations  together. — Borrow  on  the  Spanish  Gipsies. — 
Ed. 


(257) 


268 


A  ms  TOUT  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  any  peculiarity  in  the 
manner  of  Gipsy  courtships,  except  that  a  man,  above  sixty 
years  of  age,  affirmed  to  me  that  it  was  the  universal  custom, 
among  the  tribe,  not  to  give  away  in  marriage  the  younger 
daughter  before  the  elder.  In  order  to  have  this  informa¬ 
tion  confirmed,  1  enquired  of  a  female,  herself  one  of  eleven 
sisters,*  if  this  custom  really  existed  among  her  people.  She 
was,  at  first,  averse,  evidently  from  fear,  to  answer  my 
question  directly,  and  even  wished  to  conceal  her  descent. 
But,  at  last,  seeing  nothing  to  apprehend  from  speaking 
more  freely,  she  said  such  was  once  the  custom  ;  and  that  it 
had  been  the  cause  of  many  unhappy  marriages.  She  said 
she  had  often  heard  the  old  people  speaking  about  the  law 
of  not  allowing  the  younger  sister  to  be  married  before  the 
elder.  She,  however,  would  not  admit  of  the  existence  of 
the  custom  at  the  present  day,  but  appeared  quite  well  ac- 


*  A  GIPSY  MULTIPLICATION  TABLE. 


Births 

Mar- 

Births  of 

of  Children. 

riages. 

Grand-chil- 

dren. 

1 

1822,  Oct.  1. 

1842 

1843,  Jul. 

1 

2 

1824,  Jan.  1. 

1844 

1844,  Oct. 

1 

1 

3 

1825,  Apl.  1. 

1845 

1846,  Jan. 

1 

1 

1 

4 

1826,  Jul.  1. 

1846 

1847,  Ap. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

5 

1827,  Oct.  1. 

1847 

1848,  Jul. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1829,  Jan.  1. 

1849 

1849,  Oct. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

~T 

~1 

1830,  Apl.  1. 

1850 

1851,  Jan. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 

~ 

J] 

1831,  Jul.  1. 

1851 

1852,  Ap. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 

i 

1 

9} 

1832,  Oct.  1. 

1852 

1 853,  Jul. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 

l 

1 

- - 

1 

- 1 

Tcfl 

1834,  Jan.  1. 

1854 

1854,  Oct. 

] 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 

l 

1 

1 

1 11I 

1835,  Apl.  1. 

1855 

1856,  Jan. 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

l 

l 

1 

1 

1836,  Jul.  1. 

1856 

lpijial 

Total. 

12 

11110 

9 

8 

7 

6 

5 

4 

3|  2|  1|  0 

78  | 

The  above  table  will  give  a  general  idea  of  the  natural  encrease  of  the 
Gipsies.  The  reader  can  make  what  allowances  he  pleases,  for  ages  at  time 
of  marriage,  intervals  between  births,  twins,  deaths,  or  numbers  of  chil¬ 
dren  born.  By  this  table,  the  Gipsy,  by  marrying  at  twent}'  years  of  age, 
would,  when  54  years  old,  have  a  “  following”  of  no  less  than  78  souls. 
“  There  is  one  of  the  divine  laws,”  said  I  to  a  Gipsy,  “  which  the  Gipsies 
obey  more  than  any  other  people.”  “What  is  that?”  replied  he,  with 
great  gravity.  “  The  command  to  ‘  Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and  replenish 
(but  not  subdue)  the  earth.’  ”  Even  five  generations  can  be  obtained  from 
the  male,  and  six  from  the  female  Gipsy,  in  a  century,  counting  lrom  first- 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 


259 


quainted  with  it,  and  could  have  informed  me  fully  of  it, 
had  she  been  disposed  to  speak  on  the  subject. 

The  exact  parallel  to  this  custom  is  to  be  found  in  the 
Gentoo  code  of  laws,  translated  by  Halhed  ;  wherein  it  is 
made  criminal  for  “a  man  to  marry  while  In’s  elder  brother 
remains  unmarried  ;  or  when  a  man  marries  his  daughter  to 
such  a  person  ;  or  where  a  man  gives  the  younger  sister  in 
marriage  while  the  elder  sister  remains  unmarried.”*  The 
learned  translator  of  the  code  considers  this  custom  of  the 
Gentoosof  the  remotest  antiquity,  and  compares  it  with  that 
passage  in  the  Book  of  Genesis,  where  Laban  excuses  him¬ 
self  to  Jacob  for  having  substituted  Leah  for  Rachel,  in 
these  words,  “  It  must  not  be  so  done  in  our  country,  to  give 
the  younger  before  the  first-born.” 

The  nuptial  ceremony  of  the  Gipsies  is  undoubtedly  of  the 
highest  antiquity,  and  would,  probably,  be  one  of  the  first 
marriage  ceremonies  observed  by  mankind,  in  the  very  first 
stages  of  human  society.  When  we  consider  the  extraordi¬ 
nary  length  of  time  the  Gipsies  have  preserved  their  speech, 
as  a  secret  among  themselves,  in  the  midst  of  civilized  society, 
all  over  Europe,  while  their  persons  were  proscribed  and 
hunted  down  in  every  country,  like  beasts  of  the  chase,  we 
arc  not  at  all  surprised  at  their  retaining  some  of  their  an¬ 
cient  customs  ;  for  these,  as  distinguished  from  their  lan¬ 
guage,  are  of  easy  preservation,  under  any  circumstances  in 
which  they  may  have  been  placed.  That  may  much  more 
be  said  of  this  ceremony,  as  there  would  be  an  occasion  for 
its  almost  daily  observance.  It  was  wrapped  up  with  their 
very  existence — the  choice  of  their  wives,  and  the  love  of  their 
offspring — the  most  important  and  interesting  transactions 
of  their  lives ;  and  would,  on  that  account,  be  one  of  the  longest 
observed,  the  least  easily  forgotten,  of  their  ancient  usages. 

The  nuptial  rites  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  are,  perhaps,  un¬ 
equalled  in  the  history  of  marriages.  At  least,  I  have  nei¬ 
ther  seen  nor  heard  of  any  marriage  ceremony  that  has  the 
slightest  resemblance  to  it,  except  the  extraordinary  bene¬ 
diction  which  our  countryman,  Mungo  Park,  received  from 
the  bride  at  the  Moorish  wedding  in  Ali’s  camp,  at  Benown  ; 
and  that  of  a  certain  custom  practised  by  the  Mandingoes, 

born  to  first-born.  The  reader  will  notice  how  large  are  the  Gipsy  fami¬ 
lies  incidentally  mentioned  by  our  author. — Ed. 

*  Major  Archer  says  that  this  law  is  still  in  force. 


260 


A  BISTORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


at  Kamalia,  in  Africa,  also  mentioned  by  Park.*  This  cus¬ 
tom  with  the  Mandingoes  and  the  Gipsies  is  nearly  the  same 
as  that  observed  by  the  ancient  Hebrews,  in  the  days  of 
Moses,  mentioned  in  the  Book  of  Deuteronomy.  When  we 
have  the  manners  and  customs  of  every  savage  tribe  hith¬ 
erto  discovered,  including  even  the  Hottentots  and  Abyssin- 
ians,  described,  in  grave  publications,  by  adventurous  travel¬ 
lers,  I  can  see  no  reason  why  there  should  not  be  preserved, 
and  exhibited  for  the  inspection  of  the  public,  the  manners 
and  customs  of  a  barbarous  race  that  have  lived  so  long  at 
our  own  doors — one  more  interesting,  in  some  respects,  than 
any  yet  discovered  ;  and  more  particularly  as  marriage  is  a 
very  important,  indeed  the  most  important,  institution  among 
the  inhabitants  of  any  country,  whether  civilized  or  in  a 
state  of  barbarism.  How  much  would  not  our  antiquarians 
now  value  authenticated  specimens  of  the  language,  man¬ 
ners,  and  customs  of  the  ancient  Pictish  nation  that  once 
inhabited  Scotland  ! 

In  describing  the  marriage  ceremony  of  the  Scottish  Gip¬ 
sies,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  clothe  the  curious  facts  in 
language  fit  to  be  perused  by  every  reader.  But  I  must 
adopt  the  sentiment  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  as  given  in  the 
Introduction,  and  “  not  be  squeamish  about  delicacies,  where 
knowledge  is  to  be  sifted  out  and  acquired.”! 

A  marriage  cup,  or  bowl,  made  out  of  solid  wood,  and  of 
a  capacity  to  contain  about  two  Scotch  pints,  or  about  one 
gallon,  is  made  use  of  at  the  ceremony.  After  the  wedding- 
party  is  assembled,  and  everything  prepared  for  the  occa- 

*  “  I  was  soon  tired,”  says  Park,  “  and  had  retired  into  my  tent.  When 
I  was  sitting,  almost  asleep,  an  old  woman  entered  with  a  wooden  bowl  in 
her  hand,  and  signified  that  she  had  brought  me  a  present  from  the  bride. 
Before  I  could  recover  from  the  surprise  which  this  message  created,  tho 
woman  discharged  the  contents  of  the  bowl  full  in  my  face.  Finding  that 
it  was  the  same  sort  of  holy  water  with  which,  among  the  Hottentots,  a 
priest  is  said  to  sprinkle  a  new-married  couple,  I  began  to  suspect  that  the 
iady  was  actuated  by  mischief  or  malice  ;  but  she  gave  me  seriously  to  un¬ 
derstand  that  it  was  a  nuptial  benediction  from  the  bride’s  own  person ; 
and  which,  on  such  occasions,  is  always  received  by  the  young  unmarried 
Moors,  as  a  mark  of  distinguished  favour.  This  being  the  case,  I  wiped  my 
face,  and  sent  my  acknowledgment  to  the  lady. — Park's  Travels,  pages  205 
and  206. 

|  Whatever  prudes  and  snobs  may  think  of  this  chapter,  I  believe  that  the 
sensible  and  intelligent  reader  will  agree  with  me  in  saying,  that  the  mar¬ 
riage  and  divorce  ceremonies  of  the  Gipsies  are  historical  gems  of  the  most 
antique  and  purest  water. — Ed. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 


2C1 


sion,  the  priest  takes  the  bowl  and  gives  it  to  the  bride, 
who  passes  urine  into  it  ;  it  is  then  handed,  for  a  similar 
purpose,  to  the  bridegroom.  After  this,  the  priest  takes  a 
quantity  of  earth  from  the  ground,  and  throws  it  into  the 
bowl,  adding  sometimes  a  quantity  of  brandy  to  the  mix¬ 
ture.  He  then  stirs  the  whole  together,  with  a  spoon  made 
of  a  ram’s  horn,  and  sometimes  with  a  large  ram’s  horn  it¬ 
self,  which  he  wears  suspended  from  his  neck  by  a  string. 
He  then  presents  the  bowl,  with  its  contents,  first  to  the 
bride,  and  then  to  the  bridegroom  ;  calling  at  the  same 
time  upon  each  to  separate  the  mixture  in  the  bowl,  if  they 
can.  The  young  couple  are  then  ordered  to  join  hands 
over  the  bowl  containing  the  earth,  urine,  and  spirits  ;  when 
the  priest,  in  an  audible  voice,  and  in  the  Gipsy  language, 
pronounces  the  parties  to  be  husband  and  wife  ;  and  as  none 
can  separate  the  mixture  in  the  bowl,  so  they,  in  their  per¬ 
sons,  cannot  be  separated  till  death  dissolves  their  union. 

As  soon  as  that  part  of  the  ceremony  is  performed,  the 
couple  undress,  and  repair  to  their  nuptial  couch.  After 
remaining  there  for  a  considerable  time,  some  of  the  most 
confidential  relatives  of  the  married  couple  are  admitted 
to  the  apartment,  as  witnesses  to  the  virginity  of  the  bride  ; 
certain  tokens  being  produced  to  the  examining  friends, 
at  this  stage  of  the  ceremony.  If  all  the  parties  concerned 
are  satisfied,  the  bride  receives  a  handsome  present  from  the 
friends,  as  a  mark  of  their  respect  for  her  remaining  chaste 
till  the  hour  of  her  marriage.  This  present  is,  in  some  in¬ 
stances,  a  box  of  a  particular  construction.* 

*  On  their  return  from  church,  the  bride  is  seated  at  one  extremity  of  a 
room,  with  the  unmarried  girls  by  her  ;  the  bridegroom  on  the  right,  and 
the  father  and  mother,  or  those  who  perform  their  office,  on  the  left.  The 
male  part  of  Ihe  company  stand  in  the  corners,  singing,  and  playing  on  the 
guitar.  About  one  o'clock,  the  oldest  matron,  accompanied  by  others  ad¬ 
vanced  in  years,  conducts  the  bride  into  the  bed-room,  which,  according  to 
the  custom  of  Spain,  is  usually  a  small  chamber,  without  a  window,  opening 
into  the  general  apartment.  Tunc  vetula,  manic  sud  sponsce  naturalibus  ad- 
motd,  rnetnbranam,  vulvce  ori  oppositam  unguibus  scindit  et  cruorem  d  plagd 
fusurn  linteolo  txcipil.  The  Gitanos  without  make  a  loud  noise  with  their 
whistles,  and  the  girls,  striking  the  door,  sing  the  following  couplets,  or 
6ome  other  like  them  : 

“Abra  viBd  la  ptierta  Snr.  Joaquin 
Que  le  voy  a  vifid  a  poner  un  pafiuclito 
„  En  las  manos  que  tienen  que  llorar 

Toditas  las  callis.” 

The  bride  then  returns  from  the  chamber,  accompanied  by  the  matrons, 


262 


A  BISTORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


These  matters  being  settled  on  the  spot,  the  wedded  pair 
rise  from  the  marriage-bed,  again  dress  themselves  in  their 
finest  apparel,  and  again  join  the  wedding-party.  The  joy 
and  happiness  on  all  sides  is  now  excessive.  There  is 
nothing  to  be  heard  or  seen  but  fiddling  and  piping,  dancing, 
feasting  and  drinking,  which  are  kept  up,  with  the  utmost 
spirit  and  hilarity  imaginable,  for  many  hours  together.* 

and  the  new-married  couple  are  placed  upon  a  table,  where  the  bride 
dances,  et  coram  aslantibus  linteolum,  intcmcrati  pudoris  indicium  explicat  ; 
whilst  the  company,  throwing  down  their  presents  of  sweetmeats,  etc., 
dance  and  cry,  “  Viva  la  honra.” — Bright,  on  the  Spanish  Gipsy  marriage. 

Before  the  marriage  festival  begins,  four  matrons — relations  of  the  con¬ 
tracting  parties — arc  appointed  to  scrutinize  the  bride;  in  which  a  hand¬ 
kerchief,  of  the  finest  French  cambric,  takes  a  leading  part.  Should  she 
prove  frail,  she  will  likely  be  made  away  with,  in  a  way  that  will  leave  no 
trace  behind.  In  carrying  out  some  marriage  festivals,  a  procession  will 
take  place,  led  by  some  vile-looking  fellow,  bearing,  on  the  end  of  a  long 
pole,  the  dicle  and  unspotted  handkerchief ;  followed  by  the  betrothed  and 
their  nearest  friends,  and  a  rabble  of  Gipsies,  shouting  and  firing,  and  bark¬ 
ing  of  dogs.  On  arriving  at  the  church,  the  pole,  with  its  triumphant 
colours,  is  stuck  into  the  ground,  with  a  loud  huzza;  while  the  train  defile, 
on  either  side,  into  the  church.  On  returning  home,  the  same  takes  place. 
Then  follows  the  most  ludicrous  and  wasteful  kind  of  revelling,  which  often 
leaves  the  bridegroom  a  beggar  for  life. — Borrow,  on  the  Spanish  Gipsy  mar¬ 
riage. — Ed. 

*  The  part  of  the  marriage  ceremony  of  the  Gipsies  which  relates  to  the 
chastity  of  the  bride  has  a  great  resemblance  to  a  part  of  the  nuptial  rites 
of  the  Russians,  and  the  Christians  of  St.  John,  in  Mesopotamia  and  Chaldea. 
Dr.  Hurd  says:  “  When  a  new-married  couple  in  Russia  retire  to  the  nup¬ 
tial  bed,  an  old  domestic  servant  stands  sentinel  at  the  chamber-door. 
Some  travellers  tell  us  that  this  old  servant,  as  soon  as  it  is  proper,  attends 
nearer  the  bedside,  to  be  informed  of  what  happens.  Upon  the  husband’s 
declaration  of  his  success  and  satisfaction,  the  kettle-drums  and  trumpets 
proclaim  the  joyful  news.”  Among  the  Christians  of  St.  John,  as  soon  as 
the  marriage  is  consummated,  “  both  parties  wait  upon  the  bishop,  and  the 
husband  deposes  before  him  that  he  found  his  wife  a  virgin ;  and  then  the 
bishop  marries  them,  puts  several  rings  on  their  fingers,  and  baptizes  them 

again . A  marriage  with  one  who  is  discovered  to  have  lost  her 

honour  beforehand  but  very  seldom,  if  ever,  holds  good.” 

When  speaking  of  the  marriages  of  the  Mandingoes,  at  Kamalia,  about 
600  miles  in  the  interior  of  Africa,  Park  says:  ‘‘The  new-married  couple 
are  always  disturbed  toward  morning  by  the  women,  who  assemble  to  inspect 
the  nuptial  sheet,  (according  to  the  manners  of  the  ancient  Hebrews,  as 
recorded  in  Scripture,)  and  dance  around  it.  This  ceremony  is  thought 
indispensably  necessary,  nor  is  the  marriage  considered  valid  without  it.” 
J ‘ark’s  Travels,  page  399. 

By  the  laws  of  Menu,  the  Hindoo  could  reject  his  bride,  if  he  found  her 
not  a  virgin. — Sir  William  Jones. 

[The  reader  will  observe  that  the  marriage  ceremony  of  the  Gipsies, 
though  barbarous,  is  very  figurative  and  emphatic,  and  certainly  moral 
enough.  To  show  that  the  Gipsies,  as  a  people,  have  not  been  addicted 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  263 

The  nuptial  mixture  is  carefully  bottled  up,  and  the  bottle 
marked  with  the  Roman  character,  M.  In  this  state,  it  is 
buried  in  the  earth,  or  kept  in  their  houses  or  tents,  and  is 
carefully  preserved,  as  evidence  of  the  marriage  of  the  par¬ 
ties.  When  it  is  buried  in  the  fields,  the  husband  and  wife 
to  whom  it  belongs  frequently  repair  to  the  spot,  and  look 
at  it,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  them  in  remembrance  of 
their  nuptial  vows.  Small  quantities  of  the  compound  are 
also  given  to  individuals  of  the  tribe,  to  be  used  for  certain 
rare  purposes,  such,  perhaps,  as  pieces  of  the  bride’s  cake 
are  used  for  dreamiug-bread,  among  the  natives  of  Scotland, 
at  the  present  day. 

What  is  meant  by  employing  earth,  water,  spirits,  and,  of 
course,  air,  in  this  ceremony,  cannot  be  conjectured  ;  unless 
these  ingredients  may  have  some  reference  to  the  four  ele¬ 
ments  of  nature — fire,  air,  earth,  and  water.  That  of  using 
a  ram’s  horn,  in  performing  the  nuptial  rites,  has  also  its 
meaning,  could  information  be  obtained  concerning  that 
part  of  the  ceremony. 

This  marriage  ceremony  is  observed  by  the  Gipsies  in 
Scotland  at  the  present  day.  A  man,  of  the  name  of  James 
Robertson,  and  a  girl,  of  the  name  of  Margaret  Graham, 
were  married,  at  Lochgellie,  exactly  in  the  manner  described. 
Besides  the  testimony  of  the  Gipsies  themselves,  it  is  a 
popular  tradition,  wherever  these  people  have  resided  in 
Scotland,  that  they  were  all  married  by  mixing  of  earth  and 
urine  together  in  a  wooden  bowl.  I  know  of  a  girl,  of  about 
sixteen  years  of  age,  having  been  married  in  the  Gipsy 
fashion,  in  a  kiln,  at  Appindull,  in  Perthshire.  A  Gipsy  in¬ 
formed  me  that  he  was  at  a  wedding  of  a  couple  on  a  moor 
near  Lochgellie,  and  that  they  were  married  in  the  ancient 


to  the  most  barbarous  customs,  in  regard  to  marriage,  I  note  the  following 
very  singular  form  of  the  Scottish  liighlanders,  which,  according  to  Skene, 
continued  in  use  until  a  very  late,  period.  “  This  custom  was  termed  hand- 
fasting,  and  consisted  in  a  species  of  contract  between  two  chiefs,  by  which 
it  was  agreed  that  the  heir  of  one  should  live  with  the  daughter  of  the 
other,  as  her  husband,  for  twelve  months  and  a  day.  If,  in  that  time,  the 
lady  became  a  mother,  or  proved  to  be  with  child,  the  marriage  became 
good  in  law,  even  although  no  priest  had  performed  the  marriage  in  due 
form  ;  but  should  there  not  have  occurred  any  appearance  of  issue,  the  con¬ 
tract  was  considered  at  an  end.  and  each  party  was  at  liberty  to  marry,  or 
hand-fast,  with  any  other.”  Which  fact  shows  that  Highland  chiefs,  at  one 
time,  would  have  annulled  any,  or  all,  of  the  laws  of  God,  whenever  it 
would  have  served  their  purposes. — Ed.] 


264 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Gipsy  manner  described.  Shortly  after  this,  a  pair  were 
married  near  Stirling,  after  the  custom  of  their  ancestors. 
In  this  instance,  a  screen,  made  of  an  old  blanket,  was  put 
up  in  the  open  field,  to  prevent  the  parties  seeing  each 
other,  while  furnishing  the  bowl  with  what  was  necessary 
to  lawfully  constitute  their  marriage.*  The  last-named 
Gipsy  further  stated  to  me,  that  when  two  young  folks  of 
the  tribe  agree  to  be  married,  the  father  of  the  bridegroom 
sleeps  with  the  bride’s  mother,  for  three  or  four  nights  im¬ 
mediately  previous  to  the  celebration  of  the  marriage. 

Having  endeavoured  to  describe  the  ancient  nuptial  cere¬ 
mony  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  I  have  considered  it  proper  to 
give  some  account  of  an  individual  who  acted  as  priest  on 
such  occasions.  The  name  of  a  famous  celebrator  of  Gipsy 
marriages,  in  Fifeshire,  was  Peter  Robertson,  well  known, 
towards  the  latter  end  of  his  days,  by  the  name  of  Blind 
Pate.  Peter  was  a  tall,  lean,  dark  man,  and  wore  a  large 
cocked  hat,  of  the  olden  fashion,  with  a  long  staff  in  his 
hand.  By  all  accounts,  he  must  have  been  a  hundred  years 
of  age  when  he  died.  He  was  frequently  seen  at  the  head 
of  from  twenty  to  forty  Gipsies,  and  often  travelled  in  the 
midst  of  a  crowd  of  women.  Whenever  a  marriage  was 
determined  on,  among  the  Lochgellie  horde,  or  their  imme¬ 
diate  connexions,  Peter  was  immediately  sent  for,  however 
far  distant  he  happened  to  be  at  the  time  from  the  parties 
requiring  his  assistance,  to  join  them  in  wedlock  :  for  he 
was  the  oldest  member  of  the  tribe  at  the  time,  and  head  of 
the  Tinklers  in  the  district,  and,  as  the  oldest  member,  it 
was  his  prerogative  to  officiate,  as  priest,  on  such  occasions. 
A  friend,  who  obligingly  sent  me  some  anecdotes  of  this 
Gipsy  pi’iest,  communicated  to  me  the  following  facts  regard¬ 
ing  him  : 

“  At  the  wedding  of  a  favourite  Brae-laird,  in  the  shire  of 
Kinross,  Peter  Robertson  appeared  at  the  head  of  a  numer- 

*  On  reading  the  above  ceremony  to  an  intelligent  native  of  Fife,  he  said 
he  had  himself  heard  a  Gipsy,  of  the  name  of  Thomas  Ogilvie,  say  that 
the  Tinklers  were  married  in  the  way  mentioned.  On  one  occasion,  when 
a  couple  of  respectable  individuals  were  married,  in  the  usual  Scottish 
Presbyterian  manner,  at  Elie,  in  Fife,  Ogilvie,  Gipsy-like,  laughed  at  such 
a  wedding  ceremony,  as  being,  in  his  estimation,  no  way  binding  on  the 
parties.  He  at  the  same  time  observed  that,  if  they  would  come  to  him, 
he  would  marry  them  in  the  Tinkler  manner,  which  would  make  it  a  diffi¬ 
cult  matter  to  separate  them  again. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 


265 


ous  band  of  Tinklers,  attended  by  twenty-four  asses.  He 
was  always  chief  and  spokesman  for  the  band.  At  the  wed¬ 
ding  of  a  William  Low,  a  multerer,  at  Kinross,  Peter,  for 
the  last  time,  was  seen,  with  upwards  of  twenty-three  asses 
in  his  retinue.  He  had  certain  immunities  and  privileges 
allowed  him  by  his  tribe.  For  one  thing,  he  had  the  solo 
profits  arising  from  the  sale  of  keel,  used  in  marking  sheep, 
in  the  neighbouring  upland  districts  ;  and  one  of  the  asses 
belonging  to  the  band  was  always  laden  with  this  article 
alone.  Peter  was  also  notorious  as  a  physician,  and  admin¬ 
istered  to  his  favourites  medicines  of  his  own  preparation, 
and  numbers  of  extraordinary  cures  were  ascribed  to  his 
superior  skill.  He  was  possessed  of  a  number  of  wise  say¬ 
ings,  a  great  many  of  which  are  still  current  in  the  country. 
Peter  Robertson  was,  altogether,  a  very  shrewd  and  sensible 
man,  and  no  acts  of  theft  were  ever  laid  to  his  charge,  that 
I  know  of.  He  had,  however,  in  his  band,  several  females 
who  told  fortunes.  The  ceremony  of  marriage  which  he 
performed  was  the  same  you  mentioned  to  me.  The  whole 
contents  of  the  bowl  were  stirred  about  with  a  large  ram’s 
horn,  which  was  suspended  from  a  string  round  his  neck,  as 
a  badge,  I  suppose,  of  his  priestly  office.*  He  attended  all 
the  fairs  and  weddings  for  many  miles  round.  The 
Braes  of  Kinross  were  his  favourite  haunt ;  so  much  so 
that,  in  making  his  settlement,  and  portioning  his  chil¬ 
dren,  he  allowed  them  all  districts,  in  the  country  round 

*  Two  rain’s  horns  and  two  spoons,  crossed,  are  sculptured  on  the  tomb¬ 
stone  of  William  Marshall,  a  Gipsy  chief,  who,  according  to  a  writer  in 
Blackwood’s  Magazine,  died  at  the  age  of  120  years,  and  whose  remains  are 
deposited  in  the  church  yard  of  Kirkcudbright. 

A  horn  is  the  hieroglyphic  of  authority,  power,  and  dignity,  and  is  a 
metaphor  often  made  use  of  in  the  Scriptures.  The  Jews  held  ram’s  horns 
in  great  veneration,  on  account,  it  is  thought,  of  that  animal  having  been 
caught  in  a  bush  by  the  horns,  and  used  as  a  substitute,  when  Isaac  was 
about  to  be  sacrificed  by  his  father  ;  or,  perhaps,  on  account  of  this  animal 
being  first  used  in  sacrifice.  So  much  were  rani’s  horns  esteemed  by  the 
Israelites,  that  their  Priests  and  Levites  used  them  as  trumpets,  particularly 
at  the  taking  of  Jericho.  The  modern  Jews,  when  they  confess  their  sins, 
in  our  month  of  September,  announce  the  ceremony  by  blowing  a  ram’s 
horn,  the  sound  of  which,  they  say,  drives  away  the  Devil.  In  ancient 
Egypt,  and  other  parts  of  Africa,  Jupiter  Ammon  was  worshipped  under  the 
figure  of  a  ram,  and  to  this  deity  one  of  these  animals  was  sacrificed  annu¬ 
ally.  A  ram  seems  to  have  been  an  emblem  of  power  in  the  East,  from  the 
remotest  ages.  It  would,  therefore,  appear  that  the  practice  of  the  Gipsy 
priest  “wearing  a  ram’s  horn,  suspended  from  a  string,  around  his  neck,” 
must  be  derived  from  the  highest  antiquity. 

12 


266 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


about,  to  travel  in  ;  but  he  reserved  the  Braes  of  Kinross  as 
his  own  pendicle,  and  hence  our  favourite  toast  in  the  shire 
of  Kinross,  ‘  The  lasses  of  Blind  Pate’s  Pendicle.’  Besides 
the  Braes  of  Kinross,  this  Gipsy,  in  his  sweeping  verbal  tes¬ 
tament,  reserved  the  town  of  Dunfermline,  also,  to  himself, 
‘because,’  said  lie,  ‘Dunfermline  was  in  cash,  what  Loch- 
leven  was  in  water — it  never  ran  dry.’”  A  great  deal  of 
booty  was  obtained  by  the  Tinklers,  at  the  large  and  long- 
continued  fairs  which  were  frequently  held  in  this  populous 
manufacturing  town,  in  the  olden  times. 

This  Gipsy  priest  was  uncommonly  fond  of  a  bottle  of 
good  ale.  Like  many  other  celebrators  of  marriages,  he 
derived  considerable  emoluments  from  his  office.  A  Gipsy 
informed  me  that  Robertson,  on  these  occasions,  always  re¬ 
ceived  presents,  such  as  a  pair  of  candlesticks,  or  basins  and 
platters,  made  of  pewter,  and  such  like  articles.  The  dis¬ 
obedient  and  refractory  members  of  his  clan  were  chastised 
by  him  at  all  times,  on  the  spot,  by  the  blows  of  his  cudgel, 
without  regard  to  age  or  sex,  or  manner  of  striking.  When 
any  serious  scuffle  arose  among  his  people,  in  which  he  was 
like  to  meet  with  resistance,  he  would,  with  vehemence,  call 
to  his  particular  friends,  “  Set  my  back  to  the  wa’ ;  ”  and, 
being  thus  defended  in  the  rear,  he,  with  his  cudgel,  made 
his  assailants  in  front  smart  for  their  rebellion.  Although 
he  could  not  see,  his  daughter  would  give  him  the  word  of 
command.  She  would  call  to  him,  “  Strike  down” — “  Strike 
laigli”  (low) — Strike  amawn”  (athwart,) — “  Strike  haunch- 
ways,” — “  Strike  shoulder-ways,”  Ac.  In  these,  we  see 
nearly  all  the  cuts  or  strokes  of  the  Hungarian  sword-exer¬ 
cise.  As  I  have  frequently  mentioned,  all  the  Gipsies  were 
regularly  trained  to  a  peculiar  method  of  their  own  in  hand¬ 
ling  the  cudgel,  in  their  battles.  I  am  inclined  to  think  that 
part  of  the  Hungarian  sword-exercise,  at  present  practised 
in  our  cavalry,  is  founded  upon  the  Gipsy  manner  of  attack 
and  defence,  including  even  the  direct  thrust  to  the  front, 
which  the  Gipsies  perform  with  the  cudgel. 

Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  licentious 
manners  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  I  am  convinced  that  the 
slightest  infidelity,  on  the  part  of  their  wives,  would  be  pun¬ 
ished  with  the  utmost  severity.  1  am  assured  that  nothing 
can  put  a  Gipsy  into  so  complete  a  rage  as  to  impute  incon¬ 
tinence  to  his  wife.  In  India,  the  Gipsy  men  “  are  extremely 


Jfsl/ t'y  ^ 

MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  20? 

jealous  of  their  wives,  who  arc  kept  in  strict  subservance, 
and  are  in  danger  of  corporeal  punishment,  or  absolute  dis¬ 
missal,  if  they  happen  to  displease  them.''*  The  Gipsies  are 
complete  Tartars  in  matters  of  this  kind.r 

But  in  the  best-regulated  society— in  the  most  virtuous  of 
families — the  sundering  of  the  marriff^e-tie  is  often  unavoid¬ 
able,  even  under  the  most  heinous  of  circumstances.  And  it 
is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  Gipsies  should  be  exempted 
from  the  lot  common  to  humanity,  under  whatever  circum¬ 
stances  it  may  be  placed.  The  separation  of  husband  and 
wife  is,  with  them,  a  very  serious  and  melancholy  affair — an 
event  greatly  to  be  lamented,  while  the  ceremony  is  attended 
with  much  grief  and  mourning,  blood  having  to  be  shed,  and 
life  taken,  on  the  occasion. 

It  would  be  a  conclusion  naturally  to  be  drawn  from  the 
circumstance  of  the  Gipsies  having  so  singular  a  marriage 
ceremony,  that  they  should  have  its  concomitant  in  as  singu¬ 
lar  a  ceremony  of  divorce.  The  first  recourse  to  which  a 
savage  would  naturally  resort,  in  giving  vent  to  his  indigna¬ 
tion,  and  obtaining  satisfaction  for  the  infidelity  of  the  fe¬ 
male,  (assuming  that  savages  are  always  susceptible  of  such 
a  feeling,)  would  be  to  despatch  her  on  the  spot.  But  the 
principle  of  expiation,  in  the  person  of  a  dumb  creature,  for 
offences  committed  against  the  Deity,  has,  from  the  very 
creation  of  the  world,  been  so  universal  among  mankind, 
that  it  would  not  be  wondered  at  if  it  should  have  been  ap¬ 
plied  for  the  atonement  of  offences  committed  against  each 
other,  and  nowhere  so  much  so  as  in  the  East — the  land  of 
figure  and  allegory.  The  practice  obtains  with  the  Gipsies 
in  the  matter  of  divorce,  for  they  lay  upon  the  head  of  that 
noble  animal,  the  horse,  the  sins  of  their  offending  sister, 
and  generally  let  her  go  free.  But,  it  may  be  asked,  how 
has  this  sacrifice  of  the  horse  never  been  mentioned  in  Scot¬ 
land  before?  The  same  question  applies  equally  well  to 
their  language,  and  marriage  ceremony,  yet  we  know  that 
both  of  these  exist  at  the  present  day.  The  fact  is,  the  Gip¬ 
sies  have  hitherto  been  so  completely  despised,  and  held  in 
such  thorough  contempt,  that  few  ever  thought  of,  or  would 

*  Edinburgh  Encyclopedia,  yol.  x. 

f  Mr.  Borrow  bears  very  positive  testimony  to  the  personal  virtue  of 
Gipsy  females.  I  have  heard  natives  of  Hungary  speak  lightly  of  them  in 
that  respect ;  but  I  conclude  that  they  alluded  to  exceptions  to  the  general 
rule  among  the  race. — Ed. 


268 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


venture  to  make  enquiries  of  them  relative  to,  their  ancient 
customs  and  manners  ;  and  that,  when  any  of  their  cere¬ 
monies  were  actually  observed  by  the  people  at  large,  they 
were  looked  upon  as  the  mere  frolics,  the  unmeaning  and 
extravagant  practices,  of  a  race  of  beggarly  thieves  and  vag¬ 
abonds,  unworthy  of  the  slightest  attention  or  credit.*  In 
whatever  country  the  Gipsies  have  appeared,  they  have  al¬ 
ways  been  remarkable  for  an  extraordinary  attachment  to 
the  horse.  The  use  which  they  make  of  this  animal,  in  sacri¬ 
fice,  will  sufficiently  account,  in  one  way  at  least,  for  this 
peculiar  feature  in  their  character.  Many  of  the  horses 
which  have  been  stolen  by  them,  since  their  arrival  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  I  am  convinced,  have  been  used  in  parting  with  their 
wives,  an  important  religious  ceremony — or  at  least  a  cus¬ 
tom — which  they  would  long  remember  and  practise.f 

It  is  the  general  opinion,  founded  chiefly  upon  the  affinity 
of  language,  that  this  singular  people  migrated  from  Hin- 
dostan.  None  of  the  authors  on  the  Gipsies,  however,  that 
I  am  aware  of,  have,  in  their  researches,  been  able  to  dis¬ 
cover,  among  the  tribe,  any  customs  of  a  religious  nature, 
by  which  their  religious  notions  and  ceremonies,  at  the  time 
they  entered  Europe,  could  be  ascertained.  Indeed,  the 
learned  and  industrious  Grellmann  expressly  states  that  the 
Gipsies  did  not  bring  any  particular  religion  with  them, 
from  their  native  country,  by  which  they  could  be  distin¬ 
guished  from  other  people.  The  Gipsy  sacrifice  of  the  horse, 
at  parting  with  their  wives,  however,  appears  to  be  a 
remnant  of  the  great  Hindoo  religious  sacrifice  of  the  As- 
wamedha,  or  Assummeed  Jugg,  observed  by  all  the  four 
principal  castes  in  India,  enumerated  in  the  Gentoo  code  of 
laws,  translated  from  the  Persian  copy,  by  Nathaniel  Bras- 
sey  Halhed,  and  is  proof,  besides  the  similarity  of  language, 

*  What  our  author  says,  relative  to  the  sacrifice  of  the  horse,  by  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  not  being  known  to  the  people  of  Scotland  at  large,  is  equally  applica¬ 
ble  to  the  entire  subject  of  the  tribe.  And  we  see  here  how  admirably  the 
passions — in  this  case,  the  prejudice  and  incredulity — of  mankind  are  cal¬ 
culated  to  blind  them  to  facts,  perhaps  to  facts  the  most  obvious  and  incon- 
testible.  What  is  stated  of  the  Gipsies  in  this  work,  generally,  should  be 
no  matter  of  wonder  ;  the  real  wonder,  if  wonder  there  should  be,  is  that  it 
should  not  have  been  known  to  the  world  before. — Ed. 

j-  Grellmann  says,  of  the  Hungarian  Gipsies,  “  The  greatest  luxury  to 
them  is  when  they  can  procure  a  roast  of  cattle  that  have  died  of  any  dis¬ 
temper,  whether  it  be  sheep,  pig,  cow,  or  other  beast,  a  horse  only  ex¬ 
celled.” — Ed. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 


2G9 


that  the  Gipsies  are  from  Hindostan.  Before  the  Gentoo 
code  of  laws  came  into  my  hands,  I  was  inclined  to  believe 
that  this  ceremony  of  sacrificing  horses  might  be  a  Tartar 
custom,  as  the  ancient  Pagan  tribes  of  Tartary  also  sacrificed 
horses,  on  certain  occasions  ;  and  my  conjectures  were  coun¬ 
tenanced  by  the  Gipsy  and  Tartar  ceremonies  being  some¬ 
what  similar  in  their  details.  Indeed,  in  Sweden  and 
Denmark,  and  in  some  parts  of  Germany,  the  Gipsies,  as  I 
have  already  stated,  obtained  the  name  of  Tartars.  “They 
were  not  allowed  the  privilege  of  remaining  unmolested  in 
Denmark,  as  the  code  of  Danish  laws  specifies  :  The  Tartar 
Gipsies,  who  wander  about  everywhere,  doing  great  damage 
to  the  people,  by  their  lies,  thefts,  and  witchcraft,  shall  be 
taken  into  custody  by  every  magistrate.”  And  it  also  ap¬ 
pears,  according  to  Grellmann,  that  the  Gipsies  sometimes 
called  themselves  Tartars.  If  it  was  observed,  on  the  con¬ 
tinent,  that  they  sacrificed  horses,  a  custom  very  common  at 
one  time  among  the  Tartars,  their  supposed  Tartar  origin 
would  appear  to  have  had  some  foundation.  The  Tartar 
princes  seem  to  have  ratified  and  confirmed  their  military 
leagues  by  sacrificing  horses  and  drinking  of  a  running 
stream  ;  and  we  find  our  Scottish  Gipsies  dissolving  their 
matrimonial  alliances  by  the  solemn  sacrifice  of  the  same 
animal,  while  some  Gipsies  state  that  horses  were  also,  at 
one  time,  sacrificed  at  their  marriage  ceremonies.  At  these 
sacrifices  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  no  Deity — no  invisible 
agency — appears,  as  far  as  I  am  informed,  to  have  been  in¬ 
voked  by  the  sacrificers. 

I  have  alluded  to  this  custom  of  the  Tartars,  more  partic¬ 
ularly,  to  show  that  the  Gipsies  are  not  the  only  people 
who  have  sacrificed  horses.  The  ancient  Hindoos,  as  already 
stated,  sacrificed  horses.  The  Greeks  did  the  same  to  Nep¬ 
tune  ;  the  ancient  Scandinavians  to  their  god,  Assa-Thor, 
the  representative  of  the  sun  ;  and  the  Persians,  likewise,  to 
the  sun.*  But  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Gipsy  sacri¬ 
fice  of  the  horse  is  the  remains  of  the  great  Assurnrrveed  J ugg 
of  the  Hindoos,  observed  by  tribes  of  greater  antiquity  than 


*  It  appears  that  the  Jews,  when  they  lapsed  into  the  grossest  idolatry, 
dedicated  horses  to  the  sun.  “And  he  (Josiah)  took  away  the  horses  that 
the  kings  of  Judah  had  given  to  the  sun,  at  the  entering  in  of  the  house  of 
the  Lord,  by  the  chamber  of  Nathan  melech,  the  chamberlain,  which  was  in 
the  suburbs,  and  burnt  the  chariots  of  the  sun  with  tire  ”  Id  Kings,  xxiii.  11. 


270 


A  ms  TORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  modern  nations  of  India,  as  appears  by  the  Gentoo  code 
of  laws  already  referred  to. 

The  sacrificing  of  horses  is  a  curious  as  well  as  a  leading 
and  important  fact  in  the  history  of  the  Gipsies,  and,  as  far 
as  I  know,  is  new  to  the  world.  I  shall,  in  establishing  its 
existence  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  produce  my  authorities 
with  my  details. 

In  the  first  place,  it  was,  and  I  believe  it  still  is,  a  general 
tradition,  over  almost  all  Scotland,  that,  when  the  Tinklers 
parted  from  their  wives,  the  act  of  separation  took  place 
over  the  carcass  of  a  dead  horse.  In  respect  to  McDonald’s 
case,  alluded  to  under  the  head  of  Linlithgowshire  Gipsies, 
my  informant,  Mr.  Alexander  Ramsay,  late  an  officer  of  the 
Excise,  a  very  respectable  man,  who  died  in  1819,  at  the  age 
of  74  years,  stated  to  me  that  he  saw  McDonald  and  his 
wife  separated  over  the  body  of  a  dead  horse,  on  a  moor,  at 
Shieldhill,  near  Falkirk,  either  in  the  year  1758  or  1760,  he 
was  uncertain  which.  The  horse  was  laying  stretched  out 
on  the  heath.  The  parties  took  hold  of  each  other  by  the 
hand,  and,  commencing  at  the  head  of  the  dead  animal, 
walked — the  husband  on  one  side,  and  the  wife  on  the  other 
— till  they  came  to  the  tail,  when,  without  speaking  a  word 
to  each  other,  they  parted,  in  opposite  directions,  as  if  pro¬ 
ceeding  on  a  journey.  Mr.  Ramsay  said  he  never  could 
forget  the  violent  swing  which  McDonald  gave  his  wife  at 
parting.  The  time  of  the  day  was  a  little  after  day-break. 
My  informant,  at  the  time,  was  going,  with  others,  to  Shield- 
hill  for  coals,  and  happened  to  be  passing  over  a  piece  of 
rising  ground,  when  they  came  close  upon  the  Gipsies,  in  a 
hollow,  quite  unexpectedly  to  both  parties. 

Another  aged  man  of  credibility,  of  the  name  of  James 
Wilson,  at  North  Queensferry,  also  informed  me  that  it  was 
within  his  own  knowledge,  that  a  Gipsy,  of  the  name  of  John 
Lundie,  divorced  four  wives  over  dead  horses,  in  the  manner 
described.  Wilson  further  mentioned  that,  when  Gipsies 
were  once  regularly  separated  over  a  dead  horse,  they  could 
never  again  be  united  in  wedlock  ;  and  that,  unless  they 
were  divorced  in  this  manner,  all  the  children  which  the 
female  might  have,  subsequently  to  any  other  mode  of  sepa¬ 
ration,  the  husband  was  obliged  to  support.  In  fact,  the 
transaction  was  not  legal,  according  to  the  Gipsy  usages, 
without  the  horse.  The  facts  of  Lundie,  and  another  Gipsy, 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  271 


of  the  name  of  Drummond,  having  divorced  many  wives 
over  dead  horses,  have  been  confirmed  to  me  by  several 
aged  individuals  who  knew  them  personally.  One  intelli¬ 
gent  gentleman,  Mr.  Richard  Baird,  informed  me  that,  in  his 
youth,  he  actually  saw  John  Lundie  separated  from  one  of 
his  wives  over  a  dead  horse,  in  the  parish  of  Carridcn,  near 
Bo’ness.  My  father,  who  died  in  1837,  at  the  age  of  nearly 
83  years,  also  stated  that  it  was  quite  current,  in  Tweed-dale, 
that  Mary  Yorkston,  wife  of  Matthew  Baillie,  the  Gipsy 
chief,  parted  married  couples  of  her  tribe  over  dead  horses. 

About  ten  years  after  receiving  the  above  information, 
Malcolm’s  Anecdotes  of  the  Manners  and  Customs  of  Lon¬ 
don  came  into  my  hands ;  wherein  I  found  the  following 
quotations,  from  a  work  published  in  1674,  describing  the 
different  classes  of  impostors  at  that  period  in  England  : 
“  Patricos,”  says  this  old  author,  “  are  strolling  priests ; 
every  hedge  is  their  parish,  and  every  wandering  rogue 
their  parishioner.  The  service,  he  saith,  is  the  marrying  of 
couples,  without  the  Gospels  or  Book  of  Common  Prayer  ; 
the  solemnity  whereof  is  this :  The  parties  to  be  married 
find  out  a  dead  horse,  or  other  beast ;  standing,  one  on  the 
one  side,  and  the  other  on  the  other,  the  Patrico  bids  them 
live  together  till  death  part  them  ;  so,  shaking  hands,  the 
wedding  is  ended.”  Now  the  parties  here  described  seem 
to  have  been  no  other  than  Gipsies.  But  it  also  appears 
that  the  ceremony  alluded  to  is  that  of  dissolving  a  mar¬ 
riage,  and  not  that  of  celebrating  it.  It  is  proper,  however, 
to  mention,  as  I  have  already  done,  that  horses,  at  one  time, 
were  sacrificed  at  their  marriages,  as  well  as  at  their  di¬ 
vorces. 

Feeling  now  quite  satisfied  that  Gipsies  wei-e,  at  one 
time,  actually  separated  over  the  bodies  of  dead  horses,  and 
horses  only,  (for  I  could  find  no  other  animal  named  but 
horses,)  I  proceeded  to  have  the  fact  confirmed  by  the  direct 
testimony  of  the  people  themselves.  And  whether  these 
horses  were  sacrificed  expressly  for  such  purposes,  or  whether 
the  rites  were  performed  over  horses  accidentally  found 
dead,  I  could  not  discover  till  the  year  1828.  It  occurred 
to  me  that  the  using  of  dead  horses,  in  separating  man  and 
wife,  was  a  remnant  of  some  ancient  ceremony,  which  induced 
me  to  persevere  in  my  enquiries,  for  the  purpose  of  ascer¬ 
taining,  if  not  the  origin,  at  least  the  particulars,  of  so  ex- 


272 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


traordinary  a  custom.  In  the  year  mentioned,  and  in  the 
year  following,  I  examined  a  Gipsy  on  the  subject ;  a  man 
of  about  sixty  years  of  age,  who,  a  few  years  before,  had 
given  me  a  specimen  of  his  language.  He  said  that  he  him¬ 
self  had  witnessed  the  sacrifices  and  ceremonies  attending 
the  separation  of  husband  and  wife.  From  this  man  I  re¬ 
ceived  the  following  curious  particulars  relative  to  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  horses  and  ceremony  of  divorce  ;  which  I  think  may 
be  depended  on,  as  I  was  very  careful  in  observing  that  his 
statements,  taken  down  at  four  different  times,  agreed  with 
each  other. 

When  the  parties  can  no  longer  live  together  as  husband 
and  wife,  and  a  separation  for  ever  is  finally  determined  on, 
a  horse,  without  blemish,  and  in  no  manner  of  way  lame,  is 
led  forth  to  the  spot  for  performing  the  ceremony  of  divorce. 
The  hour  at  which  the  rites  must  be  performed  is,  if  possible, 
twelve  o’clock  at  noon,  “  when  the  sun  is  at  his  height.”* 
Tlfe  Gipsies' present  cast  lots  for  the  individual  who  is  to 
sacrifice  the  animal,  and  whom  they  call  the  priest,  for  the 
time.  The  priest,  with  a  long  pole  or  staff  in  his  hand,+ 
V  walks  round  and  round  the  animal  several  times  ;  repeating 
the  names  of  all  the  persons  in  whose  possession  it  has  been, 
and  extolling  and  expatiating  on  the  rare  qualities  of  so  use¬ 
ful  an  animal.  It  is  now  let  loose,  and  driven  from  their 
presence,  to  do  whatever  it  pleases.  The  horse,  perfect  and 
free,  is  put  in  the  room  of  the  woman  who  is  to  be  divorced  ; 

*  This  Gipsy  mentioned  one  particular  instance  of  having  seen  a  couple 
separated  in  this  way,  on  a  wild  moor,  near  Huntly,  about  the  year  1805. 
He  particularly  stated  that  a  horse  found  dead  would  not  do  for  a  separa¬ 
tion,  but  that  one  must  be  hilled  for  the  express  purpose;  and  that  “the 
sun  must  be  at  his  height”  before  the  horse  could  be  properly  sacrificed. 
From  the  fact  of  Ramsay  stumbling  upon  the  Gipsies  “  a  little  after  day¬ 
break,”  it  would  seem  that  circumstances  had  compelled  them  to  change 
the  time,  or  adjourn  the  completion,  of  the  sacrifice ;  or  that  the  extreme 
wildness  of  the  victim  had  prevented  its  being  caught,  and  so  led  to  the 
“  violent  swing  which  McDonald  gave  his  wife  at  parting.”  And  it  might 
be  that  Ramsay  had  come  upon  them  when  McDonald  and  his  wife  were 
performing  the  last  part  of  the  ceremony,  or  had  caused  them  to  finish  it 
abruptly;  as  the  old  Gipsy  stated  that  not  only  are  none  but  Gipsies 
allowed  to  be  present  on  such  occasions,  but  that  the  greatest  secrecy  is 
observed,  to  prevent  discovery  by  those  who  are  not  of  the  tribe. 

f  It  appears  all  the  Gipsies,  male  as  well  as  female,  who  perform  cere¬ 
monies  for  tlieir  tribe,  carry  long  staffs.  In  the  Institutes  of  Menu,  page 
23,  it  is  written :  “  The  staff  of  a  priest  must  be  of  such  length  as  to  reach 
bis  hair  ;  that  of  a  soldier  to  reach  his  forehead ;  and  that  of  a  merchant 
to  reach  the  nose.” 


h 


tL)Q'y/'  /  t 

MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  273 

and  by  its  different  movements  is  the  degree  of  her  guilt 
ascertained.  Some  of  the  Gipsies  now  sot  off  in  pursuit  of 
it,  and  endeavour  to  catch  it.  If  it  is  wild  and  intractable, 
kicks,  leaps  dykes  and  ditches,  scampers  about,  and  will  not 
allow  itself  to  be  easily  taken  hold  of,  the  crimes  and  guilt 
of  the  woman  are  looked  upon  as  numerous  and  heinous.  If 
the  horse  is  tame  and  docile,  when  it  is  pursued,  and  suffers 
itself  to  be  taken  without  much  trouble,  and  without  exhibit¬ 
ing  many  capers,  the  guilt  of  the  woman  is  not  considered 
so  deep  and  aggravated ;  and  it  is  then  sacrificed  in  her 
stead.  But  if  it  is  extremely  wild  and  vicious,  and  cannot 
be  taken  without  infinite  trouble,  her  crimes  are  considered 
exceedingly  wicked  and  atrocious  ;  and  my  informant  said 
instances  occurred  in  which  both  horse  and  woman  were 
sacrificed  at  the  same  time  ;  the  death  of  the  horse,  alone, 
being  then  considered  insufficient  to  atone  for  her  excessive 
guilt.  The  individuals  who  catch  the  horse  bring  it  before 
the  priest.  They  repeat  to  him  all  the  faults  and  tricks  it 
had  committed  ;  laying  the  whole  of  the  crimes  of  which 
the  woman  is  supposed  to  have  been  guilty  to  its  charge  ; 
and  upbraiding  and  scolding  the  dumb  creature,  in  an  angry 
manner,  for  its  conduct.  They  bring,  as  it  were,  an  accusa¬ 
tion  against  it,  and  plead  for  its  condemnation.  When  this 
part  of  the  trial  is  finished,  the  priest  takes  a  large  knife 
and  thrusts  it  into  the  heart  of  the  horse  ;  and  its  blood  is 
allowed  to  flow  upon  the  ground  till  life  is  extinct.  The 
dead  animal  is  now  stretched  out  upon  the  ground.  The 
husband  then  takes  his  stand  on  one  side  of  it,  and  the  wife 
on  the  other  ;  and,  holding  each  other  by  the  hand,  repeat 
certain  appropriate  sentences  in  the  Gipsy  language.  They 
then  quit  hold  of  each  other,  and  walk  three  times  round  the 
body  of  the  horse,  contrariwise,  passing  and  crossing  each 
other,  at  certain  points,  as  they  proceed  in  opposite  directions. 
At  certain  parts  of  the  animal,  (the  corners  of  the  horse,  was 
the  Gipsy’s  expression,)  such  as  the  hind  and  fore  feet,  the 
shoulders  and  haunches,  the  head  and  tail,  the  parties  halt, 
and  face  each  other ;  and  again  repeat  sentences,  in  their 
own  speech,  at  each  time  they  halt.  The  two  last  stops  they 
make,  in  their  circuit  round  the  sacrifice,  are  at  the  head  and 
tail.  At  the  head,  they  again  face  each  other,  and  speak  ; 
and  lastly,  at  the  tail,  they  again  confront  each  other,  utter 
some  more  Gipsy  expressions,  shake  hands,  and  finally  part, 
12* 


274 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  one  going  north,  the  other  south,  never  again  to  be 
united  in  this  life:*  Immediately  after  the  separation  takes 
place,  the  woman  receives  a  token,  which  is  made  of  cast- 
iron,  about  an  inch  and  a  half  square,  with  a  mark  upon  it 
resembling  the  Roman  character,  T.  After  the  marriage  has 
been  dissolved,  and  the  woman  dismissed  from  the  sacrifice, 
the  heart  of  the  horse  is  taken  out  and  roasted  with  fire, 
then  sprinkled  with  vinegar,  or  brandy,  and  eaten  by  the 
husband  and  his  friends  then  present ;  the  female  not  being 
allowed  to  join  in  this  part  of  the  ceremony.  The  body  of 
the  horse,  skin  and  everything  about  it,  except  the  heart,  is 
buried  on  the  spot ;  and  years  after  the  ceremony  has  taken 
place,  the  husband  and  his  friends  visit  the  grave  of  the 
animal,  to  sec  whether  it  has  been  disturbed.  At  tlieso 
visits,  they  walk  round  about  the  grave,  with  much  grief  and 
mourning. 

The  husband  may  take  another  wife  whenever  he  pleases, 
but  the  female  is  never  permitted  to  marry  again.f  The 
token,  or  rather  bill  of  divorce,  which  she  receives,  must 
never  be  from  about  her  person.  If  she  loses  it,  or  attempts 
to  pass  herself  off  as  a  woman  never  before  married,  she 
becomes  liable  to  the  punishment  of  death.  In  the  event  of 
her  breaking  this  law,  a  council  of  the  chiefs  is  held  upon 
her  conduct,  and  her  fate  is  decided  by  a  majority  of  the 
members  ;  and,  if  she  is  to  suffer  death,  her  sentence  must 
be  confirmed  by  the  king,  or  principal  leader.  The  culprit 
is  then  tied  to  a  stake,  with  an  iron  chain,  and  there  cudgel¬ 
led  to  death.  The  executioners  do  not  extinguish  life  at  one 
beating,  but  leave  the  unhappy  woman  for  a  little  while,  and 
return  to  her,  and  at  last  complete  their  work  by  despatch¬ 
ing  her  on  the  spot. 

I  have  been  informed  of  an  instance  of  a  Gipsy  falling  out 
with  his  wife,  and,  in  the  heat  of  his  passion,  shooting  his 
own  horse  dead  on  the  spot  with  his  pistol,  and  forthwith 

*  That  I  might  distinctly  understand  the  Gipsy,  when  he  described  the 
manner  of  crossing  and  wheeling  round  the  corners  of  the  horse,  a  common 
sitting-chair  was  placed  on  its  side  between  us,  which  represented  the 
animal  lying  on  the  ground. 

f' Bright,  on  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  says  :  “  Widows  never  marry  again, 
and  are  distinguished  by  mourning-veils,  and  black  shoes  made  like  those 
of  a  man ;  no  slight  mortification,  in  a  country  where  the  females  are  so  re¬ 
markable  for  the  beauty  of  their  feet.”  It  is  most  likely  that  divorced  fe¬ 
male  Gipsies  are  confounded  here  with  widows. — Ed. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  275 


performing  the  ceremony  of  divorce  over  the  animal,  with¬ 
out  allowing  himself  a  moment’s  time  for  reflection  on  the 
subject.  Some  of  the  country-people  observed  the  transac¬ 
tion,  and  were  horrified  at  so  extraordinary  a  proceeding. 
It  was  considered  by  them  as  merely  a  mad  frolic  of  an  en¬ 
raged  Tinkler.  It  took  place  many  years  ago,  in  a  wild,  se¬ 
questered  spot  between  Galloway  and  Ayrshire. 

This  sacrifice  of  the  horse  is  also  observed  by  the  Gipsies 
of  the  Russian  Empire.  In  the  year  1830,  a  Russian  gentle¬ 
man  of  observation  and  intelligence,  proprietor  of  estates  on 
the  banks  of  the  Don,  stated  to  me  that  the  Gipsies  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Moscow,  and  on  the  Don,  several  hundred 
versts  from  the  sea  of  Asoph,  sacrificed  horses,  and  ate  part 
of  their  flesh,  in  the  performance  of  some  very  ancient  cere¬ 
mony  of  idolatry.  They  sacrifice  them  under  night,  in  the 
woods,  as  the  practice  is  prohibited  by  the  Russian  Govern¬ 
ment.  The  police  are  often  detecting  the  Gipsies  in  these 
sacrifices,  and  the  ceremony  is  kept  as  secret  as  possible. 
My  informant  could  not  go  into  the  particulars  of  the  Gipsy 
sacrifice  in  Russia  ;  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  it  is  the 
same  which  the  tribe  performed  in  Scotland.  In  Russia,  the 
Gipsies,  like  those  in  this  country,  have  a  language  peculiar 
to  themselves,  which  they  retain  as  a  secret  among  their  own 
fraternity. 

As  regards  the  sacrificing  of  horses  by  the  Gipsies  of 
Scotland,  at  the  present  day,  all  that  I  can  say  is  that  I  do 
not  know  of  its  taking  place  ;  nor  has  it  been  denied  to  me. 
The  only  conclusion  to  which  I  can  come,  in  regard  to  the 
question,  is  that  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  probable  that, 
like  their  language  and  ceremony  of  marriage,  it  is  still 
practised  when  it  can  be  done.  In  carrying  out  this  cere¬ 
mony,  there  is  an  obstacle  to  be  overcome  which  does  not 
lay  in  the  way  of  that  of  marriage,  and  it  is  this  :  Where  are 
many  of  the  Tinklers  to  find  a  horse,  over  which  they  can 
obtain  a  divorce?  The  difficulty  with  them  is  as  great  as 
it  is  with  the  people  of  England,  who  must,  at  a  frightful 
expense,  go  to  no  less  than  the  House  of  Lords  to  obtain  an 
act  to  separate  legally  from  their  unfaithful  partners*  The 
Gipsies,  besides  being  generally  unable  or  unwilling  to  bear 
the  expense  of  what  will  procure  them  a  release  in  their  own 
way,  find  it  a  difficult  matter,  in  these  days,  to  steal,  carry  off, 
*  This  difficulty  has  been  removed  by  recent  legislation. — Ed. 


276 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


and  dispose  of  such  a  bulky  article  as  a  horse,  in  the  sacri¬ 
fice  of  which  they  will  find  a  new  wife.  I  am  not  aware 
how  they  get  quit  of  this  solemn  and  serious  difficulty,  be¬ 
yond  this,  that  a  Gipsy,  a  native  of  Yetholm,  informed  me 
that  some  of  his  brethren  in  that  colony  knock  down  their 
asses,  for  the  purpose  of  parting  with  their  wives,  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day.*  • 

As  the  code  of  the  ancient  laws  of  Hindostan  is  not  in 
the  hands  of  every  one,  I  shall  here  transcribe  from  the 
work  the  account  of  the.  Gentoo  Institution  of  the  Astva- 
medha  or  the  Assummeed  Jugg, t  that  the  reader  may  com¬ 
pare  it  with  the  Gipsy  sacrifice  of  horses  ;  for  which,  owing 
to  its  length,  I  must  crave  his  indulgence.  It  is  under  the 
chapter  of  evidence,  and  is  as  follows  : 

“An  Assummeed  Jugg  is  when  a  person,  having  com¬ 
menced  a  Jugg,  writes  various  articles  upon  a  scroll  of 
paper  on  a  horse’s  neck,  and  dismisses  the  horse,  sending, 
along  with  the  horse,  a  stout  and  valiant  person,  equipped 
with  the  best  necessaries  and  accoutrements,  to  accompany 
the  horse  day  and  night,  whithersoever  he  shall  choose  to 
go  ;  and  if  any  creature,  either  man,  genius  or  dragon, 
should  seize  the  horse,  that  man  opposes  such  attempt,  and, 
having  gained  the  victory,  upon  a  battle,  again  gives  the 
horse  his  freedom.  If  any  one  in  this  world,  or  in  heaven, 
or  beneath  the  earth,  would  seize  this  horse,  and  the  horse 
of  himself  comes  to  the  house  of  the  celebrator  of  the  Jugg, 
upon  killing  that  horse,  he  must  throw  the  flesh  of  him  upon 
the  fire  of  the  Julc,  and  utter  the  prayers  of  his  Deity  ;  such  a 
Jugg  is  called  a  Jugg  Assummeed ,  and  the  merit  of  it,  as 
a  religious  work,  is  infinite.”  Page  127. 

In  another  part  of  the  same  chapter  of  the  Hindoo  code 
of  laws,  are  the  following  particulars  relative  to  horses, 
which  show  the  great  respect  in  which  these  animals  were 
held  among  the  ancient  natives  of  Hindostan.  “  In  an  affair 
concerning  a  horse  :  if  any  person  gives  false  evidence,  his 
guilt  is  as  great  as  the  guilt  of  murdering  one  hundred  per¬ 
sons.”  Page  128.  In  the  Asiatic  Researches,  the  sacrifice 

*  “  An  ass  is  sometimes  sacrificed  by  religious  mendicants,  as  an  atone¬ 
ment  for  some  fault  by  which  they  had  forfeited  their  rank  as  devotees.” — 
A  ccount  of  the  Hindoos. 

f  Jugg,  in  Hindostanee,  i9  a  word  which  signifies  a  religious  ceremony; 
hence  thp  well-kno\yn  temple  Juggernaut. 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES.  277 


of  the  horse  is  frequently  noticed  ;  and  in  Sir  William 
Jones’  Institutes  of  Menu,  chapter  viii.,page  202,  it  is  said  : 
“  A  false  witness,  in  the  case  of  a  horse,  kills,  or  incurs  the 
guilt  of  killing,  one  hundred  kinsmen.”  “  The  Aswamedha , 
or  sacriiice  of  the  horse  :  Considerable  difficulties  usually 
attend  that  ceremony  ;  for  the  consecrated  horse  was  to  be 
set  at  liberty  for  a  certain  time,  and  followed  at  a  distance 
by  the  owner,  or  his  champion,  who  was  usually  one  of  his 
near  kinsmen  ;  and  if  any  person  should  attempt  to  stop  it 
in  its  rambles,  a  battle  must  inevitably  ensue  ;  besides,  as 
the  performer  of  an  hundred  Aswamedhas  became  equal  to 
the  god  of  the  firmaments.”  ( Asiatic  Researches,  vol.  iii., 
•page  216.)  “  The  inauguration  of  Indra,  (the  Indian  God  of 
the  firmaments,)  it  appears,  was  performed  by  sacrificing  an 
hundred  horses.  It  is  imagined  that  this  celebration  be¬ 
comes  a  cause  of  obtaining  great  power  and  universal  mon¬ 
archy  ;  and  many  of  the  kings  in  ancient  India  performed 
this  sacrifice  at  their  inauguration,  similar  to  that  of  In- 
dra’s.”  “  These  monarchs  were  consecrated  by  these  great 
sacrifices,  with  a  view  to  become  universal  conquerors.” 
{Asiatic  Researches.)  It  appears,  by  the  Hindoo  mythology, 
that  Indra  was  at  one  time  a  mere  mortal,  but  by  sacrificing 
an  hundred  horses,  he  became  sovereign  of  the  firmament  ; 
and  that  should  any  Indian  monarch  succeed  in  immolating  an 
hundred  horses,  he  would  displace  Indra. 

The  above  are  literal  and  simple  facts,  which  took  place 
in  performing  the  sacrifice  ;  but  the  following  is  the  explan¬ 
ation  of  the  mystic  signification  contained  in  the  ceremony. 

“The  Assummeed  Jugg  does  not  merely  consist  in  the 
performance  of  that  ceremony  which  is  open  to  the  inspec¬ 
tion  of  the  world,  namely,  in  bringing  a  horse,  and  sacrific¬ 
ing  him  ;  but  Assummeed  is  to  be  taken  in  a  mystic  signifi¬ 
cation,  as  implying  that  the  sacrificer  must  look  upon  himself 
to  be  typified  in  that  horse,  such  as  he  shall  be  described  ; 
because  the  religious  duty  of  the  Assummeed  Jugg  compre¬ 
hends  all  those  other  religious  duties,  to  the  performance  of 
which  all  the  wise  and  holy  direct  all  their  actions  ;  and  by 
which  all  the  sincere  professors  of  every  different  faith  aim 
at  perfection.  The  mystic  signification  thereof  is  as  fol¬ 
lows  :  The  head  of  that  unblemished  horse  is  the  symbol 
of  the  morning  ;  his  eyes  are  the  sun ;  his  breath  the  wind  ; 
his  wide-opening  mouth  is  the  Bishwdner,  or  that  innate 


278 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


warmth  which  invigorates  all  the  world  ;  his  body  typifies 
one  entire  year  ;  his  back,  paradise  ;  his  belly,  the  plains  ; 
his  hoof,  this  earth  ;  his  sides,  the  four  quarters  of  the  hea¬ 
vens  ;  the  bones  thereof,  the  intermediate  spaces  between 
the  four  quarters  ;  the  rest  of  his  limbs  represent  all  distinct 
matter  ;  the  places  where  those  limbs  meet,  or  his  joints,  imply 
the  months,  and  halves  of  the  months,  which  are  called  Peche 
(or  fortnights) ;  his  feet  signify  night  and  day  ;  and  night  and 
day  are  of  four  kinds  ;  first,  the  night  and  day  of  Brihma  ; 
second,  the  night  and  day  of  angels  ;  third,  the  night  and  day 
of  the  world  of  the  spirits  of  deceased  ancestors  ;  fourth,  the 
night  and  day  of  mortals.  These  four  kinds  are  typified  in 
his  four  feet.  The  rest  of  his  bones  are  the  constellations 
of  the  fixed  stars,  which  are  the  twenty-eight  stages  of  the 
moon’s  course,  called  the  lunar  year  ;  his  flesh  is  the  clouds  ; 
his  food  the  sand  ;  his  tendons  the  rivers  ;  his  spleen  and 
liver  the  mountains  ;  the  hair  of  his  body  the  vegetables, 
and  his  long  hair  the  trees.  The  fore  part  of  his  body  typi¬ 
fies  the  first  half  of  the  day,  and  the  hinder  part  the  latter 
half ;  his  yawning  is  the  flash  of  the  lightning,  and  his 
turning  himself  is  the  thunder  of  the  cloud  ;  his  urine  rep¬ 
resents  the  rain  ;  and  his  mental  reflection  is  his  only 
speech. 

“The  golden  vessels,  which  are  prepared  before  the  horse 
is  let  loose,  are  the  light  of  the  day  ;  and  the  place  where 
these  vessels  are  kept  is  a  type  of  the  ocean  of  the  East ; 
the  silver  vessels,  which  are  prepared  after  the  horse  is  let 
loose,  are  the  light  of  the  night ;  and  the  place  where  those 
vessels  are  kept  is  a  type  of  the  ocean  of  the  West.  These 
two  sorts  of  vessels  are  always  before  arid  after  the  horse. 
The  Arabian  horse,  which,  on  account  of  his  swiftness,  is 
called  JJy,  is  the  performer  of  the  journeys  of  angels  ;  the 
Tdjee ,  which  is  of  the  race  of  Persian  horses,  is  the  per¬ 
former  of  the  journeys  of  the  Kundherps  (or  the  good  spirits); 
the  Wdzbd,  which  is  of  the  race  of  the  deformed  Tdjee 
horses,  is  the  performer  of  the  journeys  of  Jins  (or  demons) ; 
and  the  Ashoo ,  which  is  of  the  race  of  Turkish  horses,  is 
the  performer  of  the  journeys  of  mankind.  This  one  horse 
which  performs  these  several  services,  on  account  of  his 
four  different  sorts  of  riders,  obtains  the  four  different  ap- 
pellati  3ns.  The  place  where  this  horse  remains  is  the  great 
ocean,  which  signifies  the  great  spirit  of  Perm-atmd,  or  the 


MARRIAGE  AND  DIVORCE  CEREMONIES. 


279 


universal  soul,  which  proceeds  also  from  that  Ferm-atmdi 
and  is  comprehended  in  the  same  Pcrm-atma. 

“  The  intent  of  this  sacrifice  is,  that  a  man  should  con¬ 
sider  himself  to  be  in  the  place  of  that  horse,  and  look  upon 
all  these  articles  as  typified  in  himself ;  and  conceiving  the 
Atmd  (or  divine  soul)  to  be  an  ocean,  should  let  all  thought 
of  self  be  absorbed  in  that  Atvid.”  Page  19. 

Mr.  Halhed,  the  translator, justly  observes  :  “This  is  the 
very  acme  and  enthusiasm  of  allegory,  and  wonderfully  dis¬ 
plays  the  picturesque  powers  of  fancy  in  an  Asiatic  genius  ; 
yet,  unnatural  as  the  account  there  stands,  it  is  seriously 
credited  by  the  Hindoos  of  all  denominations.”  On  the 
other  hand,  he  thinks  there  is  a  great  resemblance  between 
this  very  ancient  Hindoo  ceremony  and  the  sacrifice  of  the 
scape-goat,  in  the  Bible,  described  in  the  21st  and  22d 
verses  of  the  16th  chapter  of  Leviticus,  viz. :  “  And  Aaron 
shall  lay  both  his  hands  upon  the  head  of  the  live  goat,  and 
confess  over  him  all  the  iniquities  of  the  children  of  Israel, 
and  all  their  transgressions,  in  all  their  sins,  putting  them 
upon  the  head  of  the  goat ;  and  shall  send  him  away,  by  the 
hand  of  a  fit  man,  into  the  wilderness  :  and  the  goat  shall 
bear  upon  him  all  their  iniquities  into  a  land  not  inhabited  ; 
and  he  shall  let  go  the  goat  into  the  wilderness.”  Page  17. 
In  the  same  manner,  all  the  iniquities  of  the  sacrificer,  in 
the  Gentoo  ceremony,  are  laid  upon  the  horse,  which  is  let 
loose,  and  attended  by  a  stout  and  valiant  person.  The 
same  is  done  in  the  Gipsy  sacrifice,  as  typifying  the  woman 
to  be  divorced. 

The  resemblance  between  the  Gipsy  and  the  Hindoo  sac¬ 
rifice  is  close  and  striking  in  their  general  bearings.  The 
Hindoo  sacrificer  is  typified  in  the  horse,  and  his  sins  are 
ascertained  and  described  by  the  motions  or  movements  of 
the  animal  ;  for  if  the  horse  is  very  docile  and  tame,  and  of 
its  own  accord  comes  to  the  Hindoo  celebrator  of  the  sacri¬ 
fice,  his  merits  are  then  infinite,  and  extremely  acceptable  to 
the  Deity  worshipped.  In  the  Gipsy  sacrifice,  if  the  horse 
is  in  like  manner  quiet,  and  easily  caught,  the  woman,  whom 
it  represents,  is  then  comparatively  innocent.  In  India,  part 
of  the  flesh  of  the  horse  was  eaten  :  among  the  Gipsies,  the 
heart  is  eaten.  The  Hindoos  sacrificed  their  enemies,  by 
substituting  for  them  a  buffalo,  &c. :  the  Gipsies  sacrifice 
their  unfaithful  wives,  by  the  substitute  of  a  horse.  In  the 


280 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Hindoo  sacrifice,  particular  parts  of  the  horse  allegorically 
represent  certain  parts  of  the  earth  :  at  certain  parts  of  the 
horse,  (the  corners^?,  the  Gipsies  call  them,)  the  Gipsies,  in 
their  circuit  round  the  animal,  halt,  and  utter  particular 
sentences  in  their  own  language,  as  if  these  parts  were  of 
more  importance,  and  had  more  influence,  than  the  other 
parts.  And  it  is  probable  that,  in  these  sentences,  some  in¬ 
visible  agency  was  addressed  and  invoked  by  the  Gipsies. 

As  the  Aswamedha,  or  sacrifice  of  the  horse,  was  the  most 
important  of  all  the  religious  ceremonies  of  every  caste  of 
Hindoos,  in  ancient  India,  so  it  would  be  the  last  to  be  for¬ 
gotten  by  the  wandering  Gipsies.  And  as  both  sacrificed  at 
twelve  o’clock,  noon,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  both  of¬ 
fered  their  sacrifice  to  the  sun,  the  animating  soul  of  univer¬ 
sal  nature.  As  already  stated,  the  Gipsies,  while  travelling, 
assume  new  names  every  morning  before  setting  out ;  but 
when  noon-tide  arrives,  they  resume  their  permanent  English 
ones.  This  custom  is  practised  daily,  and  has  undoubtedly 
also  some  reference  to  the  sun.  By  the  account  of  the  Gipsy 
already  mentioned,  the  horse  must,  if  possible,  be  killed  at 
noon.  According  to  Southey,  in  his  curse  of  Kehamah,  the 
sacrifice  of  the  horse  in  India  was  performed  at  the  same 
time.  Colonel  Tod,  in  his  history  of  India,  says  :  “  The 
sacrifice  of  the  horse  is  the  most  imposing,  and  the  earliest, 
heathenish  rite  on  record,  and  was  dedicated  to  the  sun,  an¬ 
ciently,  in  India.”  According  to  the  same  author,  the  horse 
in  India  must  be  milk-white,  with  particular  marks  upon  it. 
The  Gipsy’s  horse  to  be  sacrificed  must  be  sound,  and  with¬ 
out  blemish  ;  but  no  particular  colour  is  mentioned.  Ac¬ 
cording  to  Halhed,  the  horse  sacrificed  in  India  was  also 
without  blemish. 

I  have,  perhaps,  been  too  minute  and  tedious  in  describing 
these  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the  Gentoos  ;  but  the  singular 
fact  that  our  Scottish  Tinklers  yet — at  least  till  very  lately — 
retained  the  important  fragments  of  the  ancient  mythology 
of  the  Pagan  tribes  of  Hindostan,  is  offered  as  an  apology  to 
the  curious  reader  for  the  trouble  of  perusing  the  details.  I 
shall  only  add,  that  there  appears  to  be  nearly  as  great  a 
resemblance  between  the  sacrifices  of  the  Gipsies  and  the 
ancient  Hindoos,  as  there  is  affinity  between  modern  Hin- 
dostanee  and  the  language  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  at  the 
present  day,  as  will  be  seen  in  the  following  chapter. 


CHAPTER  IX. 


LANGUAGE. 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  appear  to  be  extremely  tenacious  of 
retaining  their  language,  as  their  principal  secret,  among 
themselves,  and  seem,  from  what  I  have  read  on  the  subject, 
to  be  much  less  communicative,  on  this  and  other  matters 
relative  to  their  history,  than  those  of  England  and  other 
countries.  On  speaking  to  them  of  their  speech,  they  ex¬ 
hibit  an  extraordinary  degree  of  fear,  caution,  reluctance, 
distrust,  and  suspicion  ;  and,  rather  than'  give  any  informa¬ 
tion  on  the  subject,  will  submit  to  any  self-denial.  It  has 
been  so  well  retained  among  themselves,  that  I  believe  it  is 
scarcely  credited,  even  by  individuals  of  the  greatest  intel¬ 
ligence,  that  it  exists  at  all,  at  the  present  day,  but  as  slang, 
used  by  common  thieves,  house-breakers  and  beggars,  and 
by  those  denominated  flash  and  family  men.* 

*  Before  considering  this  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies, 
it  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  that  the  same  peculiarity  obtains  among 
those  on  the  continent. 

Of  the  Hungarian  Gipsies,  Grellmann  writes:  “  It  will  be  recollected,  from 
the  first,  how  great  a  secret  they  make  of  their  language,  and  how  sus¬ 
picious  they  appear  when  any  person  wishes  to  learn  a  few  words  of  it. 
Even  if  the  Gipsy  is  not  perverse,  he  is  very  inattentive,  and  is  conse¬ 
quently  likely  to  answer  some  other  rather  than  the  true  Gipsy  word.” 

Of  the  Hungarian  Gipsies,  Bright  says:  “No  one,  who  has  not  had  ex¬ 
perience,  can  conceive  the  difficulty  of  gaining  intelligible  information,  from 
people  so  rude,  upon  the  subject  of  their  language.  If  you  ask  for  a  word, 
they  give  you  a  whole  sentence;  and  on  asking  a  second  time,  they  give 
the  sentence  a  totally  different  turn,  or  introduce  some  figure  altogether 
new.  Thus  it  was  with  our  Gipsy,  who.  at  length,  tired  of  our  questions, 
prayed  most  piteously  to  be  released ;  which  we  granted  him,  only  on  con¬ 
dition  of  his  returning  in  the  evening.” 

Of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  Mr.  Borrow  writes :  “  It  is  only  by  listening 
attentively  to  the  speech  of  the  Gitanos,  whilst  discoursing  among  them¬ 
selves,  that  an  acquaintance  with  their  dialect  can  be  formed,  and  by  seizing 
upon  all  unknown  words,  as  they  fall  in  succession  from  their  lips.  Noth¬ 
ing  can  be  more  useless  and  hopeless  than  the  attempt  to  obtain  possession 

(281) 


282 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Among  the  causes  contributing  to  this  state  of  things 
among  the  ^Scottish  Gipsies,  and  what  are  called  Tink¬ 
lers  or  Tinkers,  IbT  'tliey  are  the  same  people,  may  be  men¬ 
tioned  the  following  :  The  traditional  accounts  of  the  nu¬ 
merous  imprisonments,  banishments,  and  executions,  which 
many  of  the  race  underwent,  for  merely  being  “by  habit 
and  repute  Gipsies,”  under  the  severe  laws  passed  against 
them,  are  still  fresh  in  the  memories  of  the  present  genera¬ 
tion.  They  still  entertain  the  idea  that  they  are  a  perse¬ 
cuted  race,  and  liable,  if  known  to  be  Gipsies,  to  all  the 
penalties  of  the  statutes  framed  for  the  extirpation  of  the 
whole  people.  But,  apart  from  this  view  of  the  question, 
it  may  be  asked,  how  is  it  that  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland  are 
more  reserved,  (they  are  generally  altogether  silent,)  in  re¬ 
spect  to  themselves,  than  their  brethren  in  other  countries 
seem  to  be?  It  may  be  answered,  that  our  Scottish  tribes 

of  their  vocabulary,  by  enquiring  of  them  how  particular  objects  and  ideas 
ore  styled  in  the  same ;  for,  with  the  exception  of  the  names  of  the  most 
common  things,  they  are  totally  incapable,  as  a  Spanish  writer  has  observed, 
of  yielding  the  required  information;  owing  to  their  great  ignorance,  the 
shortness  of  their  memories,  or,  rather,  the  state  of  bewilderment  to  which 
their  minds  are  brought  by  any  question  which' tends  to  bring  their  reason¬ 
ing  faculties  into  action  ;  though,  not  unfrequently,  the  very  words  which 
have  been  in  vain  required  of  them  will,  a  minute  subsequently,  proceed 
inadvertently  from  their  mouths.” 

What  has  been  said  by  the  two  last-named  writers  is  very  wide  of  the 
mark;  Grellmann,  however,  hits  it  exactly.  The  Gipsies  have  excellent  memo¬ 
ries.  It  is  all  they  have  to  depend  on.  If  they  had  not  good  memories,  how 
could  they,  at  the  present  day,  speak  a  word  of  their  language  at  all  ?  The 
difficulty  in  question  is  down-right  shuffling,  and  not  a  want  of  memory  on 
the  part  of  the  Gipsy.  The  present  chapter  will  throw  some  light  on  the 
subject.  Even  Mr.  Borrow  himself  gives  an  ample  refutation  to  his  sweep¬ 
ing  account  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  in  regard  to  their  language ;  for,  in  an¬ 
other  part  of  his  work,  he  says :  “  I  recited  the  Apostles’  Creed  to  the 
Gipsies,  sentence  by  sentence,  which  they  translated  as  I  proceeded.  They 
exhibited  the  greatest  eagerness  and  interest  in  their  unwonted  occupation, 
and  frequently  broke  into  loud  disputes  as  to  the  best  rendering,  many  be¬ 
ing  offered  at  the  same  time.  I  then  read  the  translation  aloud,  whereupon 
they  raised  a  shout  of  exultation,  and  appeared  not  a  little  proud  of  the 
composition.”  On  this  occasion,  Mr.  Borrow  evidently  had  the  Gipsies  in 
the  right  humour — that  is,  off  their  guard,  excited,  and  much  interested  in 
the  subject.  He  says,  in  another  place  :  “The  language  they  speak  among 
themselves,  and  they  are  particularly  anxious  to  keep  others  in  ignorance 
of  it.”  As  a  general  thing,  they  seem  to  have  been  bored  by  people  much 
above  them  in  the  scale  of  society ;  with  whom,  their  natural  politeness, 
and  expectations  of  money  or  other  benefits,  would  naturally  lead  them  to 
do  anything  than  give  them  that  which  it  is  inborn  in  their  nature  to 
keep  to  themselves. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


283 


are,  in  general,  much  more  civilized,  their  bands  more  broken 
up,  and  the  individuals  more  mixed  with,  and  scattered 
through,  the  general  population  of  the  country,  than  the 
Gipsies  of  other  nations ;  and  it  therefore  appears  to  me 
that  the  more  their  blood  gets  mixed  with  that  of  the  ordi¬ 
nary  natives,  and  the  more  they  approach  to  civilization,  the 
more  determinedly  will  they  conceal  every  particular  rela¬ 
tive  to  their  tribe,  to  prevent  their  neighbours  ascertaining 
their  origin  and  nationality.  The  slightest  taunting  allu¬ 
sion  to  the  forefathers  of  half-civilized  Scottish  Tinklers 
kindles  up  in  their  breasts  a  storm  of  wrath  and  fury  :  for 
they  are  extremely  sensitive  to  the  feeling  which  is  enter¬ 
tained  toward  their  tribe  by  the  other  inhabitants  of  the 
country.*  “  I  have,”  said  one  of  them  to  me,  “  wrought  all 
my  life  in  a  shop  with  fellow-tradesmen,  and  not  one  of 
them  ever  discovered  that  I  knew  a  single  Gipsy  word.”  A 
Gipsy  woman  also  informed  me  that  herself  and  sister  had 
nearly  lost  their  lives,  on  account  of  their  language.  The 
following  are  the  particulars  :  The  two  sisters  chanced  to 
be  in  a  public-house  near  Alloa,  when  a  number  of  colliers, 
belonging  to  the  coal-works  at  Sauchie,  were  present.  The 
one  sister,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  and  in  the  Gipsy  language, 
desired  the  other,  among  other  things,  to  make  ready  some 
broth  for  their  repast.  The  colliers  took  hold  of  the  two 
Gipsy  words,  shaucha  and  blawkie ,  which  signify  broth  and 
pot ;  thinking  the  Tinkler  women  were  calling  them  Sauchie 
Blackies,  in  derision  and  contempt  of  their  dark,  subterra¬ 
neous  calling.  The  consequence  was,  that  the  savage  colliers 
attacked  the  innocent  Tinklers,  calling  out  that  they  would 
‘‘  grind  them  to  powder,”  for  calling  them  Sauchie  Blackies. 
But  the  determined  Gipsies  would  rather  perish  than  explain 
the  meaning  of  the  words  in  English,  to  appease  the  en¬ 
raged  colliers  ;  “  for,”  said  they,  “  it  would  have  exposed 
our  tribe,  and  made  ourselves  odious  to  the  world.”  The 
two  defenceless  females  might  have  been  murdered  by  their 
brutal  assailants,  had  not  the  master  of  the  house  fortunately 
come  to  their  assistance.  The  poor  Gipsies  felt  the  effects 

*  Tliis  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  the  Gipsies  whom  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Crabbe  has  civilized  will  not  now  be  seen  among  the  others  of  the 
tribe,  at  his  annual  festival,  a*  Southampton.  We  have  already  seen,  under 
the  head  of  Continental  Gipsies,  that  “  those  who  are  gold-washers  in 
Transylvania  and  the  Banat  have  no  intercourse  with  others  of  their  na¬ 
tion  ;  nor  do  they  like  to  be  called  Gipsies.” 


284 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  the  beating  they  had  received,  for  many  months  thereafter  ; 
and  my  informant  had  not  recovered  from  her  bruises  at  the 
time  she  mentioned  the  circumstances  to  me.* 

They  are  also  anxious  to  retain  their  language,  as  a  secret 
among  themselves,  for  the  use  which  it  is  to  them  in  con¬ 
ducting  business  in  markets  or  other  places  of  public  resort. 
But  they  are  very  chary  of  the  manner  in  which  they  em¬ 
ploy  it  on  such  occasions.  Besides  tins,  they  display  all  the 
pride  and  vanity  in  possessing  the  language  which  is  com¬ 
mon  with  linguists  generally.  The  determined  and  uni¬ 
form  principle  laid  down  by  them,  to  avoid  all  communi¬ 
cations  with  “  strangers”  on  the  subject,  and  their  resolution 
to  keep  it  a  secret  within  their  own  tribe,  will  be  strikingly 
illustrated  by  the  following  facts. 

For  seven  years,  a  woman,  of  the  name  of  Baillie,  about 
fifty  years  of  age,  and  the  mother  of  a  family,  called  regu¬ 
larly  at  my  house,  twice  a  year,  while  on  her  peregrinations 
through  the  country,  selling  spoons  and  other  articles  made 
from  horn.  Every  time  I  saw  her,  I  endeavoured  to  prevail 
upon  her  to  give  me  some  of  her  secret  speech,  as  I  was  cer¬ 
tain  she  was  acquainted  with  the  Gipsy  tongue.  But,  not 
to  alarm  her  by  calling  it  by  that  name,  I  always  said  to 
her,  in  a  jocular  manner,  that  it  was  the  mason  word  I  wished 
her  to  teach  me.  She,  however,  as  regularly  and  firmly 
declared  that  she  knew  of  no  such  language  among  the 
Tinklers.  I  always  treated  her  kindly,  and  desired  her  to 
continue  her  visits.  I  gave  her,  each  time  she  called,  a 
glass  of  spirits,  a  piece  of  flesh,  and  such  articles  ;  and 
generally  purchased  some  trifle  from  her,  for  which  I  inten¬ 
tionally  paid  her  more  than  its  value.  She  so  far  yielded 
to  my  importunities,  that,  for  the  last  three  years  she  called, 
she  went  the  length  of  saying  that  she  would  tell  me  “some¬ 
thing”  the  next  time  she  came  back.  But  when  she  returned, 
she  guardedly  evaded  all  my  questions,  by  constantly  repeat¬ 
ing  nearly  the  same  answer,  such  as,  “  I  will  speak  to  you 
the  next  time  I  come  back,  sir.”  After  having  been  put  off 
for  seven  years  in  this  manner,  I  was  determined  to  put  her 

*  On  the  whole,  however,  our  Scottish  peasantry,  in  some  districts,  do 
not  greatly  despise  the  Tinklers  ;  at  least  not  to  the  same  extent  as  the 
inhabitants  of  some  other  countries  seem  to  do.  When  not  involved  in 
quarrels  with  the  Gipsies,  our  country  people,  with  the  exception  of  a  con¬ 
siderable  portion  of  the  land-owners,  were,  and  are  even  yet.  rather  fond 
of  the  superior  families  of  the  nomadic  class  of  these  people,  than  otherwise. 


LANGUAGE. 


285 


to  the  usual  test,  should  she  never  enter  ray  door  again,  and, 
as  she  was  walking  out  of  the  gate  of  my  garden,  I  called  to 
her,  in  the  Gipsy  language,  “  Jaw  wee,  mandgie  /” — (go  away, 
woman.)  She  immediately  turned  round,  and,  laughing,  re¬ 
plied,  “  I  will  jaw  with  you  when  I  come  back,  gaugie ” — (I 
will  go  or  speak  with  you,  when  I  come  back,  man.)  She 
returned,  as  usual,  in  December  following.  I  again  re¬ 
quested  her  to  give  me  some  of  her  words,  assuring  her  that 
she  would  be  in  no  danger  from  me  on  that  account.  I  fur¬ 
ther  told  her  it  was  of  no  use  to  conceal  her  speech  from  me, 
having,  the  last  time  she  was  in  my  house,  shown  her  that  I 
was  acquainted  with  it.  After  considerable  hesitation  and 
reluctance,  she  consented  ;  but  then,  she  said,  she  would  not 
allow  any  one  in  the  house  to  hear  her  speak  to  me  but  my 
wife.  I  took  her  at  once  into  my  parlour,  and,  on  being 
desired,  she,  without  the  least  hesitation  or  embarrassment, 
took  the  seat  next  the  fire.  Observing  the  door  of  the  room 
a  little  open,  she  desired  it  to  be  shut,  in  case  of  her  being 
overheard,  again  mentioning  that  she  had  no  objections  to 
my  wife  being  present,  and  gravely  observing  that  “  hus¬ 
bands  and  wives  were  one,  and  should  know  all  one  another’s 
secrets.”  She  stated  that  the  public  would  look  upon  her 
with  horror  and  contempt,  were  it  known  she  could  speak 
the  Gipsy  language.  She  was  extremely  civil  and  intelli¬ 
gent,  yet  placed  me  upon  a  familiar  equality  with  herself, 
when  she  found  I  knew  of  the  existence  of  her  speech,  and 
could  repeat  some  of  the  words  of  it.  Her  nature,  to  appear¬ 
ance,  seemed  changed.  Her  bold  and  fiery  disposition  was 
softened  and  subdued.  She  was  very  frank  and  polite  ;  re¬ 
tained  her  self-possession,  and  spoke  with  great  propriety.* 
The  words  which  I  got  on  this  occasion  will  be  found  in 
another  part  of  the  chapter. 

In  corroboration  of  this  principle  of  concealment  observed 
by  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  relative  to  their  language,  I  may 
give  a  fact  which  will  show  how  artful  they  are  in  avoiding 
any  allusion  to  it.  One  evening,  as  a  band  of  potters,  with 
a  cart  of  earthenware,  were  travelling  on  the  high-road,  in 
a  wild  glen  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  a  brother  of  mine  over- 

*  Their  (the  female’s)  speech  is  as  fluent,  and  their  eyes  as  unabashed,  in 
the  presence  of  royalty,  as  before  those  from  whom  they  have  nothing  to 
hope  or  fear  ;  the  result  of  which  is,  that  most  minds  quail  before  them. — 
Burrow  oh  the  Spanish  Gipsies. — Ed. 


286 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


heard  them,  male  and  female,  conversing  in  a  language,  a 
word  of  which  he  did  not  understand.  As  the  road  was 
very  bad,  and  the  night  dark,  one  of  the  females  of  the  band 
was  a  few  yards  in  advance  of  the  cart,  acting  as  a  guide  to 
the  horde.  Every  now  and  then,  among  other  unintelligible 
expressions,  she  called  out  “  Shan  drom .”  My  brother’s 
curiosity  was  excited  by  hearing  the  potters  conversing  in 
this  manner,  and,  next  morning,  he  went  to  where  they  lodged, 
in  an  out-house  on  the  farm,  and  enquired  of  the  female 
what  she  was  saying  on  the  road,  the  night  before,  and  what 
she  meant  by  “  Shan  drom .”  The  woman  appeared  con¬ 
fused  at  the  unexpected  question ;  but  in  a  short  time  re¬ 
covered  her  self-possession,  and  artfully  replied  that  they 
were  talking  Latin  (!)  and  that  u  Shan  drom”  in  Latin, 
signified  “  bad  road.”  But  the  truth  is,  “  Shan  drom ”  is 
the  Gipsy  expression  for  bad  road,  as  will  by  and  by  be  seen. 

Besides  the  difficulties  mentioned  in  the  way  of  getting 
any  of  their  language  from  them,  there  is  a  general  one  that 
arises  from  the  suspicious,  unsettled,  restless,  fickle  and  vola¬ 
tile  nature  by  which  they  are  characterized.  It  is  a  rare 
thing  to  get  them  to  speak  consecutively  for  more  than  a 
few  minutes  on  any  subject,  thus  precluding  the  possibility, 
in  most  instances,  of  taking  advantage  of  any  favourable 
humour  in  which  they  may  be  found,  in  the  matter  of  their 
general  history — leaving  alone  the  formal  and  serious  pro¬ 
cedure  necessary  to  be  followed  in  regard  to  their  lan¬ 
guage.  *If  this  favourable  turn  in  their  disposition  is  allowed 
to  pass,  it  is  rarely  anything  of  that  nature  can  be  got  from 
them  at  that  mectiug ;  and  it  is  extremely  likely  that,  at 
any  after  interviews,  they  will  entirely  evade  the  matter  so 
much  desired. 

With  these  remarks,  I  will  now  proceed  to  state  the 
method  I  adopted  to  get  at  the  Gipsy  language. 

Short  vocabularies  of  the  language  of  the  Tschengenes  of 
Turkey,  the  Cyganis  of  Hungary,  the  Zigeuners  of  Germany, 
the  Gitanos  of  Spain,  and  the  Gipsies  of  England,  have,  at 
different  periods,  since  1783,  issued  from  the  press,  in  this 
country  and  in  Germany  ;  but  I  am  not  aware  of  any  speci¬ 
mens  of  our  Scottish  Tinkler  or  Gipsy  language  having  as 
yet  been  submitted  to  the  public.  Some  of  the  former  I 
committed  to  memory,  and  used,  intermixed  with  English 
words,  in  questions  I  would  put  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  In  this 


LANGUAGE. 


287 


way, one  word  would  lead  to  another.  I  would  address  them 
in  a  confident  and  familiar  manner,  as  if  I  were  one  of  them¬ 
selves,  and  knew  exactly  who  they  were,  and  all  about  them. 
I  would,  for  instance,  ask  them  :  Have  you  a  grye  (horse)? 
How  many  chauvies  (children)  have  you  ?  Where  is  your 
gaugie  (husband)  ?  Do  you  sell  roys  (spoons)  ?  Being 
taken  completely  by  surprise,  they  would  give  me  at  once  a 
true  answer.  For,  being  the  first,  as  far  as  I  know,  to  apply 
the  language  of  the  Gipsies  of  the  continent  to  our  own 
tribes,  they  could  naturally  have  no  hesitation  in  replying  to 
my  questions  ;  although  they  would  wonder  what  kind  of  a 
Gipsy  I  could  possibly  be — dressed,  as  I  was,  in  black,  with 
black  neck-cloth,  and  no  display  of  linen,  save  a  ruffled 
breast,  thick-soled  shoes  and  gaiters.  The  consequence 
was,  I  became  a  character  of  interest  to  many  of  the  Gipsies 
to  be  found  in  a  circuit  of  many  miles  ;  and  great  wonder 
was  excited  in  their  untutored  minds,  leading  to  a  desire  to 
see,  and  know  something  of,  the  Riali  Nawken ,  or  the  gen¬ 
tleman  Gipsy.  On  such  occasions,  I  would  treat  them  as  I 
would  land  a  fish — give  them  hook  and  line  enough.  But 
the  circumstance  was  to  them  something  incomprehensible, 
for,  although  Gipsies  are  very  ready-witted,  and  possess 
great  natural  resources,  in  thieving,  and  playing  tricks  of 
every  kind,  and  great  tact  in  getting  out  of  difficulties  of 
that  nature — which,  with  them,  are  matters  of  instinct,  train¬ 
ing,  and  practice — their  whole  mind  being  bent,  and  exclu¬ 
sively  employed,  in  that  direction,  it  was  almost  impossible 
for  them  to  form  any  intelligible  opinion  as  to  my  true  char¬ 
acter,  provided  I  was  any  way  discreet  in  disguising  my  real 
position  among  them.  As  little  chance  was  there  of  any  of 
themselves  informing  the  others  of  what  assistance  they  had 
inadvertently  been  to  me,  in  getting  at  their  language. 
Some  of  them  might  have  an  idea  that  one  of  their  race  had, 
in  their  own  way  of  thinking,  peached,  turned  traitor  to 
their  blood,  and  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag.  At  times,  if  they 
happened  to  see  me  approach  them,  so  as  to  have  an  oppor¬ 
tunity  to  scrutinize  me — which  they  are  much  given  to,  with 
people  generally — they  would  not  be  so  easily  disconcerted 
at  any  question  put  to  them  in  their  language  ;  but  the  re¬ 
sult  would  be  either  direct  replies,  or  the  most  ludicrous 
scenes  of  surprise  and  terror  imaginable,  which,  to  be  en¬ 
joyed,  were  only  to  be  seen,  but  could  not  be  described, 


288 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


although  the  sequel  will  in  some  measure  illustrate  them. 
At  other  times,  if  I  addressed  a  Gipsy  in  his  own  language, 
and  spoke  to  him  in  a  kind  and  familiar  manner,  as  if  I  had 
been  soothing  a  wild  and  unmanageable  horse,  before  mount¬ 
ing  him,  he  would  either  very  awkwardly  pretend  not  to 
understand  what  I  meant,  or,  with  a  downcast  and  guilty 
look,  and  subdued  voice,  immediately  answer  my  Gipsy 
words  in  English.  But  if  I  put  the  words  to  him  in  an  ab¬ 
rupt,  hasty,  or  threatening  manner,  he  would  either  take  to 
his  heels,  or  turn  upon  me,  like  a  tiger,  and  pour  out  upon 
me  a  torrent  of  abusive  language.  The  following  instances 
will  show  the  manner  in  which  my  use  of  their  language  was 
sometimes  appreciated  by  the  female  Gipsies. 

When  I  spoke  in  a  sharp  manner  to  some  of  the  old  wo¬ 
men,  on  the  high-road,  by  way  of  testing  them,  they  would 
quicken  their  paces,  look  over  their  shoulders,  and  call  out, 
in  much  bitterness  of  spirit,  “You  are  no  gentleman,  sir, 
otherwise  you  would  not  insult  us  in  that  way.”  On  one 
occasion.  I  observed  a  woman  with  her  son,  who  appeared 
about  twelve  years  of  age,  lingering  near  a  house  at  which 
they  had  no  business,  and  I  desired  her,  rather  sharply,  to 
leave  the  place,  telling  her  that  I  was  afraid  her  chauvie 
was  a  chor — (that’  her  son  was  a  thief).  I  used  these  two 
words  merely  to  see  what  effect  they  would  have  upon  her, 
as  I  did  not  really  think  she  was  a  Gipsy.  She  instantly 
flew  into  a  dreadful  passion,  telling  me  that  I  had  been 
among  thieves  and  robbers  myself,  otherwise  I  could  not 
speak  to  her  in  such  words  as  these.  She  threatened  to  go 
to  Edinburgh,  to  inform  the  police  that  I  was  the  head  and 
captain  of  a  band  of  thieves*  and  that  she  would  have  me 
immediately  apprehended  as  such.  Pour  sailors  who  were 
present  with  me  were  astonished  at  the  sudden  wrath  and 
insolence  of  the  woman,  as  they  could  not  perceive  any  pro¬ 
vocation  she  had  received  from  me — being  ignorant  of  the 
meaning  of  the  words  chauvie  and  chor,  which  I  applied  to 
her  boy. 

One  day  I  fell  in  by  chance,  on  a  lonely  part  of  the  old 
public  road,  on  the  hills  within  half  a  mile  of  the  village  of 
North  Queensferry,  with  a  woman  of  about  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  and  the  mother,  as  she  said,  of  seven  children. 

*  This  woman  evidently  mistook  our  author  for  a  G  ipsy  gent,  such  as  he 
is  described  at  page  169. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


289 


She  had  light  hair,  blue  eyes,  and  a  fair  complexion.  The 
youngest  of  her  children  appeared  to  be  about  nine  months 
old,  and  the  eldest  about  ten  years.  The  mother  was  dressed 
in  a  brown  cloak,  and  the  group  had  altogether  a  very 
squalid  appearance.  In  the  most  lamentable  tone  of  voice, 
she  informed  me  that  her  husband  had  set  off  with  another 
woman,  and  left  her  and  her  seven  children  to  starve  ;  and 
that  he  had  been  lately  employed  at  a  paper-mill  in  Mid- 
Lothian.  She  sometimes  appeared  almost  to  choke  with 
grief,  but,  nevertheless,  I  observed  no  tears  in  her  eyes.  She 
often  repeated,  in  a  sort  of  hypocritical  and  canting  manner, 
“  The  Lord  has  been  very  kind  to  me,  and  will  still  protect 
me  and  my  helpless  babes.  Last  night  we  all  slept  in 
the  open  fields,  and  gathered  peas  and  beans  from  the  stub¬ 
ble  for  our  suppers/’  She  certainly  seemed  to  be  in  very  in¬ 
digent  circumstances  ;  but  that  her  husband  had  abandoned 
her,  I  did  not  credit.  However,  I  gave  her  a  few  half-pence, 
for  which  she  thanked  me  very  civilly.  From  her  extrava¬ 
gant  behaviour,  and  a  peculiar  wildness  in  her  looks,  it  oc¬ 
curred  to  me  that  she  belonged  to  the  lowest  caste  of  Gipsies, 
although  her  appearance  did  not  indicate  it ;  that  her  grief 
was,  for  the  most  part,  feigned,  and  that  the  story  of  her 
husband  having  abandoned  her  was  got  up  merely  to  excite 
pity,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  little  money  for  the  sub¬ 
sistence  of  her  band.  I  now  put  a  number  of  questions  to 
her,  relative  to  many  individuals  whom  I  knew  were  Gipsies 
of  a  superior  class,  taking  care  not  to  call  them  by  that  name, 
in  case  of  alarming  her.  I  spoke  to  her  as  if  I  had  been 
quite  intimate  with  all  the  persons  I  was  enquiring  about. 
She  gave  me  ■  satisfactory  answers  to  almost  every  question, 
and  seemed  well  acquainted  with  every  individual  I  named. 
She  now  appeared  quite  calm  and  collected,  and  answered 
me  very  gravely.  But  she  said  that  some  of  the  men  I  men¬ 
tioned  were  rogues,  and  that  their  wives  played  many  clever 
tricks.  On  mentioning  the  tricks  of  the  wives,  I  noticed  a 
smile  come  over  her  countenance.  I  observed  to  her  that 
they  were  not  faultless,  but  that  they  were  often  blamed  for 
crimes  of  which  they  were  not  guilty.  Upon  perceiving  that 
I  took  their  part,  which  I  did  on  purpose,  to  hear  what  she 
would  say,  she  gradually  changed  her  mind,  and  came  over 
to  my  opinion.  She  said  that  they  were  exceedingly  good- 
hearted  people,  and  that  some  of  them  had  frequently  paid 
13 


290 


A  BISTORT  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


a  night’s  lodging  for  herself  and  family.  I  now  ventured  to 
put  a  question  to  her,  half  in  Gipsy  and  half  in  English. 
After  a  short  pause  and  hesitation,  she  signified  that  she  un¬ 
derstood  what  I  said.  I  then  asked  one  or  two  questions 
in  Gipsy  words  only.  A  Gipsy,  with  crockery-ware  in  a 
basket,  happened  to  pass  us  at  the  very  moment  I  was  speak¬ 
ing  to  her ;  and  to  show  her  the  knowledge  I  had  of  her 
speech  and  people,  I  said,  “  There  is  a  nawken ”• — (there  is  a 
Gipsy.)  She,  in  a  very  civil  and  polite  manner,  immediately 
replied,  “  Sir,  I  hope  you  will  not  take  it  ill,  when  I  use  the 
freedom  of  saying  that  you  must  have  been  among  the  people 
you  arc  enquiring  about,  otherwise  you  could  not  speak  to 
me  in  that  way.”  To  show  her  that  I  did  not  despise  her 
for  understanding  my  Gipsy  words,  I  gave  her  a  few  pence 
more,  and  spoke  kindly  to  her.  She  then  became  quite  I 
cheerful  and  frank,  as  if  we  had  been  old  acquaintances. 
Instead  of  trying  to  impose  upon  me,  by  tales  of  grief  and 
woe,  and  feigned  piety,  she  appeared  happy  and  contented, 
her  whole  conduct  indicating  that  it  was  useless  to  play  off 
her  tricks  upon  me,  as' she  was  now  sensible  that  I  knew  ex-  ; 
actly  what  she  was,  and  yet  did  not  treat  her  contemptu¬ 
ously.  She  said  her  husband’s  name  was  Wilson,  and  her 
own  Jackson,  (the  names  of  two  Gipsy  tribes  ;)  that  she  could 
tell  fortunes,  and  was  acquainted  with  the  Irish  Avords  I 
spoke,  being  afraid  to  call  them  by  their  right  name.  She 
further  stated  that  every  one  of  the  people  I  was  enquiring 
about  spoke  in  the  same  language. 

About  half  an  hour  after  I  parted  Avith  her,  on  the  road, 

I  met  her  in  the  village  of  North  Queensferry,  while  I  Avas 
walking  with  a  friend.  I  then  put  a  question  to  her  in 
Gipsy  words,  in  the  presence  of  this  third  party,  who  knew 
not  what  she  was,  to  see  how  she  would  conduct  herself  in 
public.  She  seemed  surprised  at  my  question,  as  if  she  did  : 
not  understand  a  Avord  of  it — to  prevent  it  being  discovered  t 
to  others  of  the  community  that  she  Avas  a  Gipsy.  But  she  1 
publicly  praised  me  highly,  for  having  given  her  something!  p 
to  help  her  poor  children  ;  and,  with  her  trumped-up  story  ft 
at  her  tongue’s  end,  proceeded  on  her  travels.  8 

These  poor  people  were  much  alarmed  when  I  let  them  $t 
see  that  I  knew  they  Avere  Gipsies.  They  thought  I  Avasij  jo 
despising  them,  and  treating  them  with  contempt ;  or  they!  to 
Avere  afraid  of  being  apprehended  under  the  old  sanguinary  in 


LANGUAGE. 


291 


laws,  condemning  the  whole  unfortunate  race  to  death  ;  for 
the  Gipsies,  as  I  have  already  said,  still  believe  that  these 
bloody  statutes  are  in  full  force  against  them  at  the  present 
day. 

I  was  advised  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  as  mentioned  in  the 
Introduction,  to  “  get  the  same  words  from  different  individ¬ 
uals  ;  and,  to  verify  the  collection,  to  set  down  the  names  of 
the  persons  by  whom  they  were  communicated  which  I 
have  done.  For  this  reason,  the  words  now  furnished  will 
appear  as  the  confessions  of  so  many  individuals,  rather  than 
a  vocabulary  drawn  up  in  the  manner  in  which  such  is  usu¬ 
ally  done  ;  and  which  will  be  more  satisfactory  to  the  gene¬ 
ral  reader,  as  well  as  the  philologist,  than  if  I  had  presented 
the  words  by  themselves,  without  an)r  positive  or  circum¬ 
stantial  evidence  of  their  genuineness.  To  the  general 
reader,  as  distinguished  from  the  philologist,  the  anecdotes 
connected  with  the  collection  may  prove  interesting,  if  the 
words  themselves  have  no  attraction  for  him  ;  while  they 
will  satisfy  the  latter,  as  far  as  they  go,  as  to  the  existence 
of  a  language  which  has  almost  always  been  denied,  yet 
which  is  known,  at  the  present  day,  to  a  greater  number  of 
the  population  of  the  country  than  could  at  first  have  been 
imagined  ;  this  part  of  it  having  been  drawn  from  a  variety 
of  individuals,  at  different  and  widely-separated  times  and 
places.  On  this  account,  I  hope  that  the  minuteness  of  the 
details  of  the  present  enquiry  may  not  appear  tedious,  but, 
on  the  contrary,  interesting,  to  my  readers  generally  ;  inas¬ 
much  as  the  present  collection  is  the  first,  as  far  as  I  know, 
of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  language  that  has  ever  been  made  ; 
although  the  people  themselves  have  lived  amongst  us  for 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years,  and  talked  it  every  hour  of 
the  day,  but  hardly  ever  in  the  hearing  of  the  other  inhabit¬ 
ants,  excepting,  occasionally,  a  word  of  it  now  and  then,  to 
disguise  their  discourse  fi'om  those  around  them  ;  which,  on 
being  questioned,  they  have  always  passed  off  for  card ,  to 
prevent  the  law  taking  hold  of  them,  and  punishing  them 
for  being  Gipsies.  These  details  will  also  show  that  our 
Scottish  Tinklers,  or  Gipsies,  are  sprung  from  the  common 
stock  from  which  are  descended  those  that  are  to  be  found 
in  the  other  parts  of  Europe,  as  well  as  those  that  arc  scat¬ 
tered  over  the  world  generally  ;  what  secrecy  they  observe 
in  all  matters  relative  to  their  affairs  ;  what  an  extraordi- 


292 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


nary  degree  of  reluctance  and  fear  they  evince  in  answering 
questions  tending  to  develop  their  history  ;  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  how  difficult  it  is  to  learn  anything  satisfactory 
about  them.* 

I  fell  in  one  day,  on  the  public  road,  with  an  old  woman 
and  her  two  daughters,  of  the  name  of  Ross,  selling  horn 
spoons,  made  by  Andrew  Stewart,  a  Tinkler  at  Bo’ness.  I 
repeated  to  the  woman,  in  the  shape  of  questions,  some  of 
the  Gipsy  words  presented  in  these  pages.  She  at  first 
affected,  though  very  awkwardly,  not  to  understand  what  I 
raid,  but  in  a  few  minutes,  with  some  embarrassment  in  her 
manner,  acknowledged  that  she  knew  the  speech,  and  gave 
me  the  English  of  the  following  words  : 

Gaugie,  man.  Grge,  horse. 

Managie,  woman.  Grye-fcmler ,  horse-dealer. 

Chavvies,  children.  Hogs ,  spoons. 

1  ubserved  to  this  woman,  that  I  saw  no  harm  in  speaking 
this  language  openly  and  publicly.  “None  in  the  least,  sir,” 
was  her  reply. 

Two  girls,  of  the  name  of  Jamieson,  came  one  day  beg¬ 
ging  to  my  door.  They  appeared  to  be  sisters,  of  about 
eight  and  seventeen  years  of  age,  and  were  pretty  decently 
clothed.  Both  had  light-blue  eyes,  light-yellow,  or  rather 
flaxen,  hair,  and  fair  complexions.  To  ascertain  whether 
they  were  Tinklers  or  not,  I  put  some  Gipsy  words  to  the 
eldest  girl.  She  immediately  hung  down  her  head,  as  if  she 
had  been  detected  in  a  crime,  and,  pretending  not  to  under¬ 
stand  what  was  said,  left  the  house  ;  but,  after  proceeding 
about  twelve  paces,  she  took  courage,  turned  round,  and, 
with  a  smile  upon  an  agreeable  countenance,  called  back, 
“  There  are  eleven  of  us,  sir.”  I  had  enquired  of  her  how 
many  children  there  were  of  her  family.  I  called  both  the 
girls  back  to  my  house,  and  ordered  them  some  victuals,  for 
which  they  were  extremely  grateful,  and  seemed  much 
pleased  that  they  were  kindly  treated.  After  I  had  dis- 

*  II  would  he  well  for  the  reader  to  consider  what  a  Gipsy  is,  irrespec¬ 
tive  of  tire  language  which  he  speaks  ;  for  the  race  comes  before  the  speech 
which  it  uses.  That  will  be  done  fully  in  my  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. 
The  language,  considered  in  itsedf,  however  interesting  it  may  be,  is  a  sec¬ 
ondary  consideration  ;  it  may  ultimately  disappear,  while  the  people  who 
now  speak  it  will  remain. — Ed. 


LANG  V AO  E. 


293 


covered  they  were  Gipsies,  I  wormed  out  of  them  the  fol¬ 
lowing  words  : 


Gaugie,  man. 
Managie ,  woman. 
Chauvies,  children. 


Grye,  horse. 
Jucal,  dog. 


When  I  enquired  of  the  eldest  girl  the  English  of  Jucal , 
she  did  not,  at  first,  catch  the  sound  of  the  word  ;  hut  her 
little  sister  looked  up  in  her  face,  and  said  to  her,  “  Don’t 
you  hear  ?  That  is  dog.  It  is  dog  he  means.”  The  other 
then  added,  with  a  downcast  look,  and  a  melancholy  tone 
of  voice,  “  You  gentlemen  understand  all  languages  now- 
a-days.” 

At  another  time,  four  or  five  children  were  loitering  about, 
and  diverting  themselves,  before  the  door  of  a  house,  near 
Inverkeithing.  The  youngest  appeared  about  five,  and  the 
eldest  about  thirteen  years  of  age.  One  of  the  boys,  of  the 
name  of  McDonald,  stepped  forward,  and  asked  some  money 
from  me  in  charity.  From  his  importunate  manner  of  beg¬ 
ging,  I  suspected  the  children  were  Gipsies,  although  their 
appearance  did  not  indicate  them  to  be  of  that  race.  After 
some  questions  put  to  them  about  their  parents  and  their 
occupations,  they  gave  me  the  English  of  the  following 
words  : 


Gaugie ,  man. 
Chauvies ,  children. 
Riali ,  gentleman. 
Grye,  horse. 

Jucal ,  dog. 


Aizel,  ass. 

Lowa ,  silver. 
Chor.  thief. 
Slaurdie,  prison. 
Ring,  the  devil. 


A  gentleman,  an  acquaintance  of  mine,  was  in  my  presence 
while  the  children  were  answering  my  words  ;  and  as  the 
subject  of  their  language  was  new  to  him,  I  made  some  re¬ 
marks  to  him  in  their  hearing,  relative  to  their  tribe,  which 
greatly  displeased  them.  One  of  the  boys  called  out  to  me, 
with  much  bitterness  of  expression,  “  You  are  a  Gipsy  your¬ 
self,  sir,  or  you  never  could  have  got  these  words.” 

Some  years  since,  a  female,  of  the  name  of  Ruthven,  was 
in  the  habit  of  calling  at»a  farm  occupied  by  one  of  my 
brothers.  My  mother,  being  interested  about  the  Gipsies, 
began,  on  one  occasion,  to  question  this  female  Tinkler,  rela¬ 
tive  to  her  tribe,  and,  among  other  things,  asked  if  she  was 


294 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


a  Gipsy.  “  Yes,”  replied  Ruthven,  “I  am  a  Gipsy,  and  a 
desperate,  murdering  race  Ave  are.  I  will  let  you  hear  me 
speak  our  language,  but  Avhat  the  better  will  you  be  of 
that?”  She  accordingly  uttered  a  few  sentences,  and  then 
said,  “  Noav,  are  you  any  the  wiser  of  what  you  have  heard  ? 
But  that  infant,”  pointing  to  her  child  of  about  five  years  of 
age,  “  understands  every  word  I  speak.”  “  I  know,”  con¬ 
tinued  the  Tinkler,  “  that  the  public  are  trying  to  find  out 
the  secrets  of  the  Gipsies,  but  it  is  in  vain.”  This  woman 
further  stated  that  her  tribe  would  be  exceedingly  dis¬ 
pleased,  were  it  known  that  any  of  their  fraternity  taught 
their  language  to  “  strangers.”*  She  also  mentioned  that  the 
Gipsies  believe  that  the  laws  which  were  enacted  for  their 
extirpation  were  yet  in  full  force  against  them.  I  may  men¬ 
tion,  however,  that  she  could  put  confidence  in  the  family  in 
whose  house  she  made  these  confessions. 

On  another  occasion,  a  female,  with  three  or  four  children, 
the  eldest  of  whom  was  not  above  ten  years  of  age,  came 
up  to  me  while  speaking  to  an  innkeeper,  on  a  public  pier 
on  the  banks  of  the  Forth.  She  stated  to  us  that  her  prop¬ 
erty  had  been  burned  to  the  ground,  and  her  family  reduced 
to  beggary,  and  solicited  charity  of  us  both.  After  receiv¬ 
ing  a  few  half-pence  from  the  innkeeper,  she  continued  her 
importunities  with  an  unusual  impertinence,  and  hung  upon 
me  for  a  contribution.  Her  barefaced  conduct  displeased 
me.  I  thought  I  Avould  put  her  to  the  test,  and  try  if  she 
was  not  a  Gipsy.  Deepening  the  tone  of  my  voice,  I  called 
out  to  her,  in  an  angry  manner,  “  Sallah,  jaio  drom ” — 
(“  Curse  you,  take  the  road.”)  The  Avoman  instantly  wheeled 
about,  uttered  not  another  word,  but  set  off,  Avith  precipita¬ 
tion  ;  and  so  alarmed  Avere  her  children,  that  they  took  hold 
of  her  clothes,  to  hasten  and  pull  her  out  of  my  presence  ; 
calling  to  her,  at  the  same  time,  “  Mother,  mother,  come 
aAvay.”  Mine  host,  the  innkeeper,  was  amazed  at  the  effec¬ 
tual  manner  in  which  I  silenced  and  dismissed  the  impor¬ 
tunate  and  troublesome  beggars.  He  was  anxious  that  I 

*  The  Gipsies  are  always  afraid  to  say  what  they  would  do  in  such  cases. 
Perhaps  they  don't  know,  but  have  only  a  general  impression  that  the  in¬ 
dividual  would  “  catch  it or  there  may  be  some  old  law  on  the  subject. 
What  Ruthven  said  of  her’s  being  a  desperate  race  is  true  enough,  and 
murderous  too,  among  themselves  as  distinguished  from  the  inhabitants 
generally.  Her  remark  was  evidently  part  of  that  frightening  policy  which 
keeps  the  natives  from  molesting  the  tribe.  See  page  44. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


295 


should  teach  him  the  unknown  words  that  had  so  terrified 
the  poor  Gipsies  ;  with  the  design,  it  appeared  to  me,  of 
frightening  others,  should  they  molest  him  with  their  beg¬ 
ging.  Had  I  not  proved  this  family  by  the  language,  it  was 
impossible  for  any  one  to  perceive  that  the  group  were 
Gipsies. 

In  prosecuting  my  enquiries  into  the  existence  of  the 
Gipsy  language,  I  paid  a  visit  to  Lochgcllie,  once  the  resi¬ 
dence  of  four  or  five  families  of  Gipsies,  as  already  men¬ 
tioned,  and  procured  an  interview  with  young  Andrew 
Steedman,  a  member  of  the  tribe.  At  first,  he  appeared 
much  alarmed,  and  seemed  to  think  I  had  a  design  to  do 
him  harm.  His  fears,  however,  were  in  a  short  while 
calmed  ;  and,  after  much  reluctance,  he  gave  me  the  follow¬ 
ing  words  and  expressions,  with  the  corresponding  English 
significations.  Like  a  true  Gipsy,  the  first  expression  which 
he  uttered,  as  if  it  came  the  readiest  to  him,  was,  “  Chocir  a 
chauvie" — (“  rob  that  person,”)  which  he  pronounced  with  a 
smile  on  his  countenance. 

Gaugie,  man.  Keechan,  knife. 

Gourie,  man.  Chowrie,  knife. 

Managie,  woman.  Scaf,  hat. 

Chauvie,  a  person  of  either  Mass,  flesh. 

sex.  Mass,  hand. 


Chauvies,  children. 

Been  gaugie,  gentleman. 
Been  gourie,  gentleman. 
Bajah,  a  chief,  governor. 
Baurie  rajah,  the  king. 
Greharn,  horse. 

Grye,  horse. 

Scefer,  ass. 

Ju cal,  dog. 

Mujler,  cat. 

Sloof,  sheep. 

Bashanie,  cock. 

Caunie,  hen. 

Borlan ,  sun. 

Mn  11  n  moon. 


Bar,  money. 

Lowie,  coin  or  money. 

Roug ,  silver. 

Neel,  shilling. 

Deek,  to  listen. 

Chee,  tongue. 

Chee  chee,  hold  your  tongue. 
Chor,  thief. 

Choar,  to  steal. 

Quad,  prison. 

Moolie,  death. 

Moolie,  I’ll  kill  you. 

Bing,  the  devil. 

Bing  feck,  devil  take  you. 
Bing  feck  eelreelee,  devil  take 


Gar lan,  ship. 
Ileefe,  spoon. 


your  soul. 

Choar  a  chauvie,  rob  that  per¬ 


son. 


296 


A  HISTORY  OF  TnE  GIPSIES. 


Choar  a  gaugie ,  steal  from  that  Gloioxe  a  Iowa ,  pay  him  the 

man.  money. 

Cheeteroxnanxe ,  a  dram  of  whis¬ 
key. 

The  first  expression  which  the  Gipsies  use  in  saluting  one 
another,  when  they  first  meet,  anywhere,  is  “ Autcenie ,  au- 
teenie.”  Steedman,  however,  did  not  give  me  the  English 
of  this  salutation.  He  stated  to  me  that,  at  the  present  day, 
the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  when  by  themselves,  transact  their 
business  in  their  own  language,  and  hold  all  their  ordinary 
conversations  in  the  same  speech.  In  the  course  of  a  few 
minutes,  Steedman’s  fears  returned  upon  him.  He  appeared 
to  regret  what  he  had  done.  He  now  said  he  had  forgotten 
the  language,  and  referred  me  to  his  father,  old  Andrew 
Steedman,  who,  lie  said,  would  give  me  every  information  I 
might  require.  I  imprudently  sent  him  out,  to  bring  the  old 
man  to  me  ;  for,  when  both  returned,  all  further  communica¬ 
tion,  with  regard  to  their  speech,  was  at  an  end.  Both 
were  now  dead  silent  on  the  subject,  denied  all  knowledge 
of  the  Gipsy  language,  and  were  evidently  under  great 
alarm.  The  old  man  would  not  face  me  at  all ;  and  when  I 
went  to  him,  he  appeared  to  be  shaking  and  trembling,  while 
he  stood  at  the  head  of  his  horses,  in  his  own  stable.  Young 
Steedman  entreated  me  to  tell  no  one  that  he  had  given  me 
any  words,  as  the  Tinklers,  he  said,  would  be  exceedingly 
displeased  with  him  for  doing  so.  This  man,  however,  by 
being  kindly  treated,  and  seeing  no  intention  of  doing  him 
any  harm,  became,  at  an  after  period,  communicative  on 
various  subjects  relative  to  the  Gipsies. 

The  following  are  the  words  which  I  obtained  during  an 
hour’s  interrogation  of  the  woman  that  baffled  me  for  seven 
years,  and  of  whom  I  have  said  something  already  : 


Gaugie,  man. 

Cha.uvie,  child. 

Mori,  wife. 

Shan  mort ,  bad  wife. 
Blawkxe,  pot. 

Roys,  spoons, 

Snypers ,  shears. 

Fluff,  tobacco-pipe. 
Baurie  mort,  good  wife. 
Nais  mort,  grandmother. 


JYais  gavgie,  grandfather. 
Been  riah,  gentleman. 

Been  raunie,  gentlewoman. 
Bill,  servant-maid. 
Loudnie,  whore. 

Chor,  thief. 

Gawvers ,  pickpockets. 
Nawkexis,  Tinklers. 
Rachlin,  hanged  man. 
Klistie,  soldier. 


LANGUAGE. 


297 


Puunie-col,  sailor. 

Harro,  sword. 

Femmel ,  hand. 

Chourie ,  bayonet-knife. 

Yak,  eye. 

Mass,  meat,  flesh. 

Sherro,  head. 

Gaffe,  swine’s  flesh. 

Mooie ,  mouth. 

Flair  ins,  fish. 

Chatters ,  teeth. 

Habben,  bread. 

Rat,  blood. 

Blaw ,  meal. 

Rat,  night. 

Neddies ,  potatoes. 

Moo  lie,  death,  to  die,  kill. 

Thood ,  milk. 

Shucha,  coat. 

Smout,  butter. 

Teeyakas,  shoes. 

Chizcazin,  cheese. 

Gawd,  shirt. 

Bobies,  peas. 

Olivers,  stockings. 

Pooklie,  pot-barley. 

Wiper,  napkin, 

Coories,  blankets. 

Shaucha,  broth. 

Geeve,  corn,  wheat,  grain. 

Grye,  horse. 

Faizim,  hay. 

Aizel,  ass. 

Stramel,  straw. 

Jucaf ,  dog. 

Paunie,  water. 

Rouller,  cow. 

Yak,  coal. 

Bakra ,  sheep. 

Mauds,  peats. 

Kair,  house. 

Shan  drom,  bad  road. 

Blinker,  window. 

Beenlightment,  daylight. 

Key,  bed. 

Jaw  vree,  go  away. 

Aucheer  many  an,  hold  your 

Fluff  an,  tobacco. 

Lowie,  money. 

tongue. 

Rouy,  silver. 

Bing  tee  ma ,  devil  miss  me. 

Leel,  bank  notes. 

Ruffe  feck  ma,  devil  take  me. 

Casties,  trees. 

Ruffe  lee  ma,  devil  miss  me. 

Quad,  prison. 

I  observed  to  this  woman  that  her  language  would,  in 
course  of  time,  be  lost.  She  replied,  with  great  seriousness, 
“It  will  never  be  forgotten,  sir;  it  is  in  our  hearts,  and 
as  long  as  a  single  Tinkler  exists,  it  will  be  remembered.” 
I  further  enquired  of  her,  how  many  of  her  tribe  were  in 
Scotland.  Her  answer  was,  “  There  are  several  thousand  ; 
and  there  are  many  respectable  shop-keepers  and  house¬ 
holders  in  Scotland  that  are  Gipsies.”  I  requested  of  this 
woman  the  Gipsy  word  for  God.*  She  said  they  had  no 

*  Ponqueville,  in  his  travels,  says  that  the  Gipsies  in  the  Levant  have 
no  words  in  their  language  to  express  either  God  or  the  soul.  Of  ten 
words  of  the  Greek  Gipsy,  given  by  him,  five  of  them  are  in  use  in  Scot¬ 
land. — Paris,  1820. 

[The  Gipsy  for  God,  according  to  Grellmann,  is  JJswe,  Lewel,  Lewol, 
Ltwla.~\ — Ed. 


13* 


298 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


corresponding  word  for  God  in  their  speech  ;  adding,  that 
she  thought  “  it  as  well,  as  it  prevented  them  having  their 
Maker’s  name  often  unnecessarily  and  sinfully  in  their 
mouths.”  She  acknowledged  the  justice,  and  highly  ap¬ 
proved  of  the  punishment  of  death  for  murder  ;  but  she 
condemned,  most  bitterly,  the  law  that  took  away  the  lives 
of  human  beings  for  stealing.  She  dwelt  on  the  advantages 
which  her  secret  speech  gave  her  tribe  in  transacting  busi¬ 
ness  in  markets.  She  said  that  she  was  descended  from  the 
first  Gipsy  family  in  Scotland.  I  was  satisfied  that  she  was 
sprung  from  the  second,  if  not  the  first,  family.  I  could 
make  out,  with  tolerable  certainty,  the  links  of  her  descent 
for  four  generations  of  Gipsies.  I  have  already  described 
the  splendid  style  in  which  her  ancestors  travelled  in  Tweed- 
dale.  Her  mother,  above  eighty  years  of  age,  also  called 
at  my  house.  Both  were  fortune-tellers.  It  was  evident, 
from  this  woman’s  manner,  that  she  knew  much  she  would 
not  communicate.  Like  the  Gipsy  chief,  in  presence  of  Dr. 
Bright,  at  Csurgo,  in  Hungary,  she,  in  a  short  time,  became 
impatient ;  and,  apparently,  when  a  certain  hour  arrived,  she 
insisted  upon  being  allowed  to  depart.  She  would  not  sub¬ 
mit  to  be  questioned  any  longer. 

Owing  to  the  nature  of  my  enquiries,  and  more  particu¬ 
larly  the  fears  of  the  tribe.  I  could  seldom  venture  to  ques¬ 
tion  the  Gipsies  regarding  their  speech,  or  their  ancient 
customs,  with  any  hope  of  receiving  satisfactory  answers, 
when  a  third  party  was  present.  The  following,  however, 
is  an  instance  to  the  contrary  ;  and  the  facts  witnessed  by 
the  gentleman  who  was  with  me  at  the  time,  are,  besides 
the  testimony  of  the  Gipsies  themselves,  convincing  proofs 
that  these  people,  at  the  present  day,  in  Scotland,  can  con¬ 
verse  among  themselves,  on  any  ordinary  subject,  in  their 
own  language,  without  making  use  of  a  single  word  of  the 
English  tongue.* 

o  o  _ 

In  May,  1829,  while  near  the  manse  of  Inverkeithing,  my 
friend  and  I  accidentally  fell  in,  on  the  high  road,  with  four 
children,  the  youngest  of  whom  appeared  to  be  about  four, 

*  Had  a  German  listened  a  whole  day  to  a  Gipsy  conversation,  he  would 
not  have  understood  a  single  expression. —  Grellmann. 

The  dialect  of  the  English  Gipsies,  though  mixed  with  English,  is  toler¬ 
ably  pure,  from  the  fact  of  its  being  intelligible  to  the  race  in  the  centre  of 
Russia. — Borrow. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


299 


and  the  eldest  about  thirteen,  years  of  age.  They  were  accom¬ 
panied  by  a  woman,  about  twenty  years  old,  who  had  the 
appearance  of  being  married,  but  not  the  mother  of  any  of 
the  children  with  her.  Not  one  of  the  whole  party  could 
have  been  taken  for  a  Gipsy,  but  all  had  the  exact  appearance 
of  being  the  family  of  some  indigent  tradesman  or  labourer. 
Excepting  the  woman,  whose  hair  was  dark,  all  of  the  com¬ 
pany  had  hair  of  a  light  colour,  some  of  them  inclining  to 
yellow,  with  fair  complexions.  In  not  one  of  their  counte¬ 
nances  could  be  seen  those  features  by  which  many  pretend 
the  Gipsies  can,  at  all  times,  be  distinguished  from  the  rest 
of  the  community.  The  manner,  however,  in  which  the 
woman,  at  first,  addressed  me,  created  in  my  mind  a  suspicion 
that  she  was  one  of  the  tribe.  In  order  to  ascertain  the 
fact,  I  put  a  question  to  her  in  Gipsy,  in  such  a  manner  that 
it  might  appear  to  her  that  I  was  quite  certain  she  was  one 
of  the  fraternity.  She  immediately  smiled  at  my  question, 
held  down  her  head,  cast  her  eyes  to  the  ground,  then  ap¬ 
peared  as  if  she  had  been  detected  in  something  wrong,  and 
pretended  not  to  understand  what  I  said.  One  of  the  chil¬ 
dren,  however,  being  thrown  entirely  off  his  guard,  imme¬ 
diately  said  to  her,  “You  know  quite  well  what  he  says.” 
The  woman,  recovering  from  her  surprise  and  confusion,  and 
being  assured  she  had  nothing  to  fear  from  me,  now  answered 
my  question.  She  also  replied  to  every  other  interrogation 
I  put  to  her,  without  showing  the  least  fear  or  hesitation. 
After  I  had  repeated  a  few  words  more,  and  a  sentence  in 
the  Gipsy  tongue,  one  of  the  boys  exclaimed,  “  He  has  good 
cant !”  and  then  addressed  me  entirely  in  the  Gipsy  language. 
(All  the  Gipsies,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  call  their  lan¬ 
guage  cant,  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  their  tribe.)  The 
whole  party  seemed  extremely  happy  that  I  was  acquainted 
with  their  speech.  The  woman  put  several  questions  to  me, 
in  return,  some  of  which  were  wholly  in  her  own  peculiar 
tongue.  She  asked  my  name,  place  of  residence,  and  whether 
I  was  a  naiclcen — that  is  a  Gipsy.  She  further  enquired 
whether  my  friend  was  also  a  nawlcen  ;  adding,  with  a  smile, 
that  she  was  sure  I  was  a  tramper.  The  children  some¬ 
times  conversed  among  themselves  wholly  in  their  own  lan¬ 
guage  ;  and,  when  I  could  not  understand  the  woman,  as 
she  requested,  in  her  own  speech,  to  know  my  name,  &c., 
one  of  them  instantly  interpreted  the  sentence  into  English 


800 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


for  me.  One  of  the  oldest  boys,  however,  thinking  I  was 
only  pretending  to  be  ignorant  of  their  speech,  observed,  in 
English,  to  his  companions,  “  I  am  sure  he  is  a  tramper,  and 
can  speak  as  good  cant  as  any  of  ns.”  To  keep  up  the  char¬ 
acter,  my  friend  told  them  that  I  had  been  a  tramper  in  my 
youth,  but  that  I  had  now  nearly  lost  the  language.  On 
hearing  this,  the  woman,  with  great  earnestness,  exclaimed, 
“  God  bless  the  gentleman  !”  In  order  to  confirm  their  be¬ 
lief  that  I  was  one  of  their  tribe,  I  bade  the  woman  good- 
day  in  her  own  tongue,  and  parted  with  them.  She  informed 
me,  on  leaving,  that  she  resided  at  Banff,  but  that  her  hus¬ 
band  was  then  at  Perth. 

During  the  short  interview  which  I  had  with  these  Gipsies, 
I  collected  the  following  words  : 


Gavgie ,  man. 

Riah,  gentleman. 

Ravnie ,  lady. 

Vast,  hand. 

Sonnakie,  gold. 

Sonnakie  vanister,  gold  ring. 
Rang,  silver. 

Bowie,  money. 

Grye,  horse. 

Aizel,  ass. 

Jucal ,  dog. 

Maichkci ,  cat. 

Baurie ,  great. 

Vile,  village. 


Baurie  vile ,  large  village. 
Nawken,  Gipsy. 

Davies,  day. 

Beenship  davies,  Nawken,  good- 
day,  Gipsy. 

Pen  yer  naarn  ?  what  is  your 
name  ? 

Shucha,  coat. 

Cables,  breeches. 

Gogle,  hat. 

Coories ,  blankets. 

Boys,  spoons. 

Skews,  platters. 

Habben  kairer ,  baker  of  bread. 


The  method  I  adopted  with  them,  as  I  have  already 
hinted,  was  to  ask  them  the  English  of  the  words  I  gave 
them  in  Gipsy,  so  that  the  answers  I  got  were  confirmations 
of  the  same  words  collected  from  other  individuals,  and 
which  I  drew  from  memory  for  the  occasion.  Had  I  at¬ 
tempted  to  write  down  any  of  their  sentences,  it  would  have 
instantly  shut  the  door  to  all  further  conversation  on  the 
subject,  and,  in  all  probability,  the  Gipsies  would  have  taken 
to  their  heels,  muttering  imprecations  against  me  for  having 
insulted  them.  Of  this  I  was  satisfied,  that  had  I  really  been 
acquainted  with  their  speech,  these  Gipsy  children  could 
have  kept  up  a  regular  and  connected  conversation  with  me, 
with  the  greatest  fluency,  and  without  their  sentences  being 


LANGUAGE. 


301 


intermixed  with  any  English  or  Scotch  words  whatever,  a 
fact  which  lias  been  repeatedly  stated  to  me  by  the  Gipsies. 

In  confirmation  of  these  facts,  I  shall  transcribe  a  letter 
addressed  to  me  by  the  gentleman  who  was  present  on  the 
occasion* 

Inverkeithing,  25 th  May ,  1829. 

“  My  Dear  Sir  : 

“  Agreeably  to  your  desire,  I  have  looked  over  that  part 
of  your  manuscript  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  which  details  the 
particulars  of  a  short  and  accidental  interview  which  we 
had  with  a  woman  and  four  children,  whom  we  met  near 
Inverkeithing  Manse,  on  the  22d  inst.,  and  who  turned  out 
to  be  Gipsies.  I  have  no  hesitation  in  averring  that  your 
statements,  to  my  knowledge,  are  substantially  correct — 
being  present  during  the  whole  conversation  which  took 
place  with  the  individuals  mentioned.  It  was  the  first  time 
I  ever  heard  the  Gipsy  language  spoken,  and  it  appeared 
quite  evident  that  those  Gipsies  could  converse,  in  a  regular 
and  connected  manner,  on  any  subject,  without  making  use 
of  a  single  English  word  ;  and  which  particularly  appeared 
from  the  questions  which  they  put  to  you,  as  well  as  from 
the  conversation  which  they  had  among  themselves,  in  their 
own  peculiar  speech  :  and  that,  otherwise,  the  woman  and 
children  had  not,  in  the  colour  of  their  hair,  complexion,  and 
general  appearance,  any  resemblance  to  those  people  whom 
I  always  considered  to  be  Gipsies.  I  am,  <fec., 

“  JAMES  II.  COBBAN, 

Deputy  Compt.  of  Customs ,  Inverkeithing. 

Mr.  Walter  Simson, 

Supt.  of  Quarantine ,  Inverkeithing .” f 

I  have  already  mentioned  having  succeeded  in  obtaining 

*  This  letter  is  interesting  to  the  extent  that  it  illustrates  the  amount  of 
knowledge  possessed  by  the  Scottish  community,  generally,  regarding  the 
subject  of  the  Gipsies. — Ed. 

t  Sir  Walter  Scott  was  disposed  to  think  that  our  Gipsy  population  was 
rather  exaggerated  at  five  thousand  souls;  but  when  families  such  as  the 
above  mentioned  are  taken  into  account — leaving  alone  those  who  may  be 
classed  as  settled  Gipsies — I  am  convinced  that  their  number  is  not  over¬ 
estimated. 

[Not  being  in  possession  of  sufficient  information  on  the  subject  of  the 
Gipsies,  the  opinion  of  Sir  Walter  Scott,  on  the  point  in  question,  amounted 
to  nothing.  See  the  Index,  for  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  ideas  of  the  Scottish 
Gipsy  population. — Ed.] 


302  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 

a  few  words  of  Gipsy,  from  two  sisters,  of  the  name  of  Jamie¬ 
son,  who  came  begging  to  my  door.  I  had  reason  to  sup¬ 
pose  they  would  acquaint  their  relatives  of  having  been 
questioned  in  their  own  speech,  and  would  greatly  exaggerate 
my  knowledge  of  it ;  for  I  always  observed  that  the  individ¬ 
uals  with  whom  I  conversed  were  at  first  impressed  with  a 
belief  that  I  knew  much  more  of  it  than  I  really  did. 

During  the  following  summer,  a  brother  and  a  cousin  of 
these  girls  called  at  my  house,  selling  baskets.  The  one 
was  about  twenty-one,  the  other  fifteen,  years  of  age.  I 
happened  to  be  from  home,  but  one  of  my  family,  suspecting 
them  to  be  Gipsies,  invited  them  into  the  house,  and  men¬ 
tioned  to  them,  (although  very  incorrectly,)  that  I  understood 
every  word  of  their  speech.  So  I  saw,”  replied  the  eldest 
lad,  “  for  when  he  passed  us  on  the  road,  some  time  ago,  I 
called,  in  our  language,  to  my  neighbour,  to  come  out  of  the 
way,  and  he  understood  what  1  said,  for  he  immediately 
turned  round,  and  looked  at  us.”  I,  however,  knew  nothing 
of  the  circumstance ;  I  did  not  even  recollect  having  seen 
them  pass  me.  It  is  likely,  however,  I  had  been  examining 
their  appearance,  and  it  is  as  likely  they  had  been  trying  if 
I  understood  their  speech.  At  all  events,  they  appeared  to 
have  known  me,  while  I  was  entirely  ignorant  of  who  they 
were,  and  to  have  had  their  curiosity  excited,  on  account,  as 
I  imagined,  of  their  relatives  having  told  them  I  was  ac¬ 
quainted  with  their  language.  This  occurrence  produced  a 
wonderful  effect  upon  the  two  lads,  for  they  appeared  pleased 
to  think  I  could  speak  their  language.  At  this  moment,  one 
of  my  daughters,  about  seven  years  of  age.  repeated,  in  their 
hearing,  the  Gipsy  word  for  pot,  having  picked  it  up  from 
hearing  me  mention  it.  The  young  Tinklers  now  thought 
they  were  in  the  midst  of  a  Gipsy  family,  and  seemed  quite 
happy.  “  But  are  you  really  a  nmvJcen  ?”  I  asked  the  eld¬ 
est  of  them.  “  Yes,  sir,”  he  replied  ;  “  and  to  show  you 
I  am  no  impostor,  I  will  give  you  the  names  of  everything 
in  your  house  ;”  which,  in  the  presence  of  my  family,  he 
did,  to  the  extent  I  asked  of  him.  “  My  speech,”  he  contin¬ 
ued,  “  is  not  the  cant  of  packmen,  nor  the  slang  of  common 
thieves.” 

But  Gipsy-hunting  is  like  deer-stalking.  In  prosecuting 
it,  it  is  necessary  to  know  the  animal,  its  habits,  and  the 
locality  in  which  it  is  to  be  found.  I  saw  the  unfavourable 


LANGUAGE. 


303 


turn  approaching  :  tlio  Gipsies’  time  was  up  ;  their  patience 
was  exhausted.  I  dropped  the  subject,  and  ordered  them 
some  refreshment.  On  their  taking  leave  of  me,  I  said  to 
them,  “  D°  you  intend  coming  round  this  part  of  the  country 
again  ?”  (I  need  not  have  asked  them  such  a  question  as 
that.)  “  That  we  do,  sir  ;  and  we  will  not  fail  to  come  and 
see  you  again.”  They  thus  left  me,  with  the  strong  impres¬ 
sion  on  their  minds,  that  I  was  a  natvken,  like  themselves, 
«but  a  riah — a  gentleman  Gipsy.  I  waited  patiently  for 
their  return,  which  would  happen  in  due  season,  on  their 
half-yearly  tramp.  Everything  looked  so  favourably,  cir¬ 
cumstances  had  contributed  so  fortunately,  to  the  end  which 
I  had  so  much  at  heart,  that  I  looked  upon  the  information 
to  be  drawn  from  these  poor  Tinkler  lads,  with  as  much 
solicitude  and  avarice  as  one  would  who  had  discovered  a 
treasure  hid  in  his  field. 

This  species  of  Gipsy-hunting,  I  believe,  I  had  exclusively 
to  myself.  I  had  none  of  the  difficulties  to  contend  with, 
which  would  be  implied  in  the  field  of  it  having  been  gone 
over  by  others  before  me.  That  kind  of  Gipsy-hunting 
which  implied  imprisonment,  banishment,  and  hanging,  was 
a  thing  of  which  the  Gipsies  had  had  sad  experience ;  if  not 
in  their  own  persons,  at  least  in  that  which  the  traditions 
of  their  tribe  had  so  carefully  handed  down  to  them.  Be¬ 
sides  this,  the  experience  of  the  daily  life  of  the  members 
of  their  tribe  afforded  an  excellent  school  of  training,  for 
acquiring  a  host  of  expedients  for  escaping  every  danger 
and  difficulty  to  which  their  habits  exposed  them.  But  so 
thoroughly  had  they  preserved  their  secrets,  and  especially 
the  grand  one — their  language — that  they  came  to  their 
wits’  end  how  to  understand,  and  how  to  act  in,  the  new 
sphere  of  danger  into  which  they  were  now  thrown,  or  even 
to  comprehend  its  nature.  Such  was  the  advantage  which 
education  and  enlightenment  had  given  their  civilized  neigh¬ 
bour  over  them.  How  could  they  imagine  that  the  com¬ 
mencement  of  my  knowledge  of  their  language  had  been 
drawn  from  hooks  ?  What  did  some  of  them  know  of  books, 
beyond,  perhaps,  a  youth  sent  to  school,  where,  owing  to  his 
restless  and  unsettled  good-for-nothingness,  he  would  advance 
little  beyond  his  alphabet?*  For  we  know  that  some  Gip- 

*  In  speaking  of  the  more  original  kind  of  Gipsy,  Grellmann  says :  “  No 
Gipsy  lias  ever  signalized  himself  in  literature,  notwithstanding  many  of 


304 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GirSIES. 


sies  are  so  intensely  vain  as  to  send  a  child  to  school,  merely 
to  brag  before  their  civilized  neighbours  that  their  children 
have  been  educated.  How  could  they  comprehend  that 
their  language  had  found,  or  could  find,  its  way  into  books? 
The  tiling  to  them  was  impossible ;  the  idea  of  it  could 
not,  by  any  exertion  of  their  own,  even  enter  into  their 
imagination.  The  danger  to  arise  from  such  a  quarter  was 
altogether  beyond  their  capacity  of  comprehension.  Know¬ 
ing,  however,  that  there  was  danger  of  some  singular  na¬ 
ture  surrounding  them,  yet  being  unable  to  comprehend  it, 
they  flickered  about  it,  like  moths  about  a  candle ;  till  at 
last  they  did  come  to  comprehend,  if  not  its  origin,  or  ex¬ 
tent,  at  least  its  tendency,  and  the  consequences  to  which  it 
would  lead. 

According  to  promise,  the  eldest  of  the  Gipsy  boys  called 
at  my  house,  in  about  six  months,  accompanied  by  his  sister. 
He  was  selling  white-iron  ware,  for  he  was  a  tin-smith  by 
occupation.  Without  entering  into  any  preliminary  conver¬ 
sation,  for  the  purpose  of  smoothing  the  way  for  more  direct 
questions,  I  took  him  into  my  parlour,  and  at  once  enquired 
if  he  could  speak  the  Tinkler  language  ?  He  applied  to  my 
question  the  construction  that  I  doubted  if  he  could,  and  the 
consequences  which  that  would  imply,  and  answered  firmly, 
“  Yes,  sir  ;  I  have  been  bred  in  that  line  all  my  life.”  “  Will 
you  allow  me,”  said  I,  “  to  write  down  your  words  ?”  “  0  yes, 
sir  ;  you  are  welcome  to  as  many  as  you  please.”  “  Have  you 
names  for  everything,  and  can  you  converse  on  any  subject, 
in  that  language  ?”  “  Yes,  sir  ;  we  can  converse,  and  have  a 

name  for  everything,  in  our  own  speech.”  I  now  commenced 
to  “  make  hay  while  the  sun  shone,”  as  the  phrase  runs  ;  for 
I  knew  that  I  could  have  only  about  an  hour  with  the  Gipsy, 

them  have  partaken  of  the  instruction  to  he  obtained  at  public  schools. 
Their  volatile  disposition  and  unsteadiness  will  not  allow  them  to  complete 
anything  which  requires  perseverance  or  application.  In  the  midst  of  his 
career  of  learning,  the  recollection  of  his  origin  seizes  him  ;  he  desires  to 
return  to  what  he  thinks  a  more  happy  manner  of  life  ;  this  solicitude  en- 
creases ;  he  gives  up  all  at  once,  turns  back  again,  and  consigns  over  his 
knowledge  to  oblivion.” 

There  are  too  many  circumstances  surrounding  such  a  Gipsy  to  remind 
him  of  his  origin,  and  arrest  him  in  his  career  of  learning:  for  his  race 
never  having  been  tolerated — that  is,  no  position  ever  having  been  assigned 
it,  he  feels  as  if  he  were  a  vagabond,  if  known  or  openly  avowed  to  the 
public  as  a  member  of  the  tribe.  And  this,  in  itself,  is  sufficient  to  dis¬ 
courage  such  a  Gipsy  in  every  effort  towards  improvement. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


305 


at  the  most.  The  following,  then,  are  the  words  and  sen¬ 
tences  which  I  took  down,  on  this  occasion  : 


Slaps ,  tea. 

Moozies,  porridge. 

Mass,  flesh. 

Shavcha ,  broth. 

Mumlie,  candle. 

Stramel ,  straw. 

Parnie,  wdieat. 

Duff,  smoke. 

Yale,  fire. 

Wuther,  door. 

Glue ,  window. 

Kair ,  house. 

Shucha ,  coat. 

Shvch-hamie,  waistcoat. 

Castle ,  stick. 

Coories ,  blankets. 

Eegees ,  bed-clothes. 

Wavlheriz ,  bed. 

Suchira ,  sixpence. 

Sye-boord ,  sixpence. 

Chinda,  shilling. 

Chinda  ochindies,  twelve  shil¬ 
lings. 

TVm  chindies,  three  shillings. 
Baurle ,  grand,  great,  good. 
Shan,  bad. 

Davies-pagrin,  daybreak. 
Baurle  dairies,  good  day. 

Shan  davies,  bad  day. 

Fannie  davies ,  wet  day. 

Sheelra  davies,  frosty  or  cold 
day. 

Sneepa  davies,  snowy  or  white 
day. 

Baurle  forest ,  the  chief  city. 
Baurle  pantile,  the  sea,  ocean, 
grand  water. 

Bing,  the  devil. 

Ruffle,  the  devil, 
take. 

Chauvies  wautlieriz,  the  chil¬ 
dren’s  bed-clothes. 


Sher ro,  head. 

Carlie,  neck. 

Lears ,  ears. 

Chatters,  teeth, 

Yak,  eye. 

Nak,  nose. 

Mooie,  mouth. 

Vast,  hand. 

Jaur,  leg. 

Nek ,  knee. 

Peerie,  foot. 

Bur,  stone. 

From,  the  earth. 

Cang-geerie,  church. 

Sonnakie,  gold. 

Sonnakie  vanister,  gold  ring. 
Callo,  black. 

Cullo  gaugie ,  black  man. 
Leehgh  callo,  blue. 

Sneepa,  white,  snow. 

Sheelra,  cold,  frost. 

Lon,  salt. 

Lon  paunie,  the  sea,  salt  water. 
Rat,  night. 

Rat,  blood. 

Habben  kairer,  baker  of  bread. 
Aizel,  ass. 

Govrnie,  cow. 

Jit  cal,  dog. 

Pavpeenie,  goose. 

Connie,  hen. 

Boord,  penny. 

Curdle,  half-penny. 

Lee,  miss. 

Ruffle  feck  ma,  devil  take  me. 
Ruffle  lee  ma,  devil  miss  me. 
Feck  a  bar  and  mar  the  gaugie, 
lift  a  stone  and  fell  the  man. 
Chee,  chee,  silence,  hold  your 
tongue. 

Auvie,  come  here. 

Jaw  vree,  go  aw'ay. 


306 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Jaw  vree  wautheriz,  go  away  to 
your  bed. 

Baish  doun,  sit  down. 

Baish  doun  betiiment ,  sit  down 
on  the  chair. 

Howie  been  baishen  ?  how  are 
you  ? 

Biah,  gentleman. 

Ilaunie,  gentlewoman. 

Baurie  riah,  king. 

Baurie  raunie,  queen. 

Braw,  son. 

Brawl ,  daughter. 

Taggers ,  colliers. 


Naivken,  Tinkler,  Gipsy. 
Cam ,  the  moon. 

Quad ,  prison. 

Staurdie,  prison. 

Yaik,  one. 

Buie ,  two. 

Trin,  three. 

Tor ,  four. 

Bo,  five. 

Shaigh,  six. 

Naivairn,  seven. 

Naigh,  eight. 

Line,  nine. 

Nay,  ten. 


This  young  man  sang  part  of  two  Gipsy  songs  to  me,  in 
English ;  and  then,  at  my  request,  he  turned  one  of  them 
into  the  Gipsy  language,  intermingled  a  little,  however, 
with  English  words ;  occasioned,  perhaps,  by  the  difficulty 
in  translating  it.  The  subject  of  one  of  the  songs  was  that 
of  celebrating  a  robbery,  committed  upon  a  Lord  Shandos  ; 
and  the  subject  of  the  other  was  a  description  of  a  Gipsy 
battle.  The  courage  with  which  the  females  stood  the  rattle 
of  the  cudgels  upon  their  heads  was  much  lauded  in  the  song. 
Like  the  Gipsy  woman  with  whom  I  had  no  less  than  seven 
years’  trouble  ere  getting  any  of  her  speech,  this  Gipsy  lad 
became,  in  about  an  hour’s  time,  very  restless,  and  impatient 
to  be  gone.  The  true  state  of  things,  in  this  instance, 
dawned  upon  his  mind.  He  now  became  much  alarmed,  and 
would  neither  allow  me  to  write  down  his  songs,  nor  stop 
to  give  me  any  more  of  his  words  and  sentences.  His 
terror  was  only  exceeded  by  his  mortification  ;  and,  on  part¬ 
ing  with  me,  he  said  that,  had  he,  at  first,  been  aware  I  was 
unacquainted  with  his  speech,  he  would  not  have  given  me 
a  word  of  it. 

As  far  as  I  can  judge,  from  the  few  and  short  specimens 
which  I  have  myself  heard,  and  had  reported  to  me,  the 
subjects  of  the  songs  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  (I  mean  those 
composed  by  themselves,)  are  chiefly  their  plunderings,  their 
robberies,  and  their  sufferings.  The  numerous  and  deadly 
conflicts  which  they  had  among  themselves,  also,  afforded 
them  themes  for  the  exercise  of  their  muse.  My  father,  in 
his  youth,  often  heard  them  singing  songs,  wholly  in  their 


LANGUAGE. 


307 


own  language.  They  appear  to  have  been  very  fond  of  our 
ancient  Border  marauding  songs,  which  celebrate  the  daring 
exploits  of  the  lawless  freebooters  on  the  frontiers  of  Scot¬ 
land  and  England.  They  were  constantly  singing  these  com¬ 
positions  among  themselves.  The  song  composed  on  Hughie 
Graeme,  the  horse-stealer,  published  in  the  second  volume  of 
Sir  Walter  Scott’s  Border  Minstrelsy,  was  a  great  favourite 
with  the  Tinklers.  As  this  song  is  completely  to  the  taste 
of  a  Gipsy,  I  will  insert  it  in  this  place,  as  affording  a 
good  specimen  of  that  description  of  song  in  the  singing  of 
which  they  take  great  delight.  It  will  also  serve  to  show 
the  peculiar  cast  of  mind  of  the  Gipsies. 

HUGHIE  THE  GRH2ME. 

Gude  Lord  Scroope’s  to  the  hunting  gane, 

He  has  ridden  o’er  moss  and  nmir; 

And  he  has  grippit  Hughie  the  Grmme, 

For  stealing  o’  the  Bishop’s  mare. 

“  Now,  good  Lord  Scroope,  this  may  not  be ! 

Here  hangs  a  broadsword  by  my  side  ; 

And  if  that  thou  canst  conquer  me. 

The  matter  it  may  soon  be  tryed.” 

“  I  ne’er  was  afraid  of  a  traitor-thief ; 

Although  thy  name  be  Hughie  the  Graeme, 

I’ll  make  thee  repent  thee  of  thy  deeds, 

If  God  but  grant  me  life  and  time.” 

“  Then  do  your  worst  now,  good  Lord  Scroope, 

And  deal  your  blows  as  hard  as  you  can  ! 

It  shall  be  tried,  within  an  hour, 

Which  of  us  two  is  the  better  man.” 

But  as  they  were  dealing  their  blows  so  free, 

And  both  so  bloody  at  the  time, 

Over  the  moss  came  ten  yeomen  so  tall, 

All  for  to  take  brave  llughie  the  Graeme. 

Then  they  liae  grippit  Hughie  the  Graeme, 

And  brought  him  up  through  Carlisle  town  ; 

The  lasses  and  lads  stood  on  the  walls, 

Crying,  “  Hughie  the  Graeme,  thou’se  ne’er  gae  down.” 

Then  liae  they  chosen  a  jury  of  men, 

The  best  that  were  in  Carlisle  town  ; 

And  twelve  of  them  cried  out  at  once, 

“  Hughie  the  Graeme,  thou  must  gae  down.” 


308 


A  ms  TOUT  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


Then  np  bespak  him  gude  Lord  Hume, 

As  he  sat  by  the  judge’s  knee, — 

“  Twenty  white  owsen,  my  gude  lord, 

If  you’ll  grant  Hugliie  the  Graeme  to  me.” 

“  0  no,  0  no,  my  gude  Lord  Hume  ! 

For  sooth  and  sae  it  manna  be ; 

For,  were  there  but  three  Graemes  of  the  name, 

They  suld  be  hanged  a’  for  me.” 

’Twas  up  and  spake  the  gude  Lady  Hume, 

As  she  sat  by  the  judge’s  knee, — 

“A  peck  of  white  pennies,  my  guile  lord  judge, 

If  you’ll  grant  Hughie  the  Graeme  to  me.” 

“ O  no,  0  no,  my  gude  Lady  Hume! 

For  sooth  and  so  it  must  na  be ; 

Were  he  but  the  one  Graeme  of  the  name, 

He  suld  be  hanged  high  for  me.” 

“  If  I  be  guilty,”  said  Hughie  the  Graeme, 

“  Of  me  my  friends  shall  have  small  talk 
And  he  has  louped  fifteen  feet  and  three, 

Though  his  hands  they  were  tied  behind  his  back. 

He  looked  over  his  left  shoulder, 

And  for  to  see  what  he  might  see  ; 

There  was  he  aware  of  his  auld  father, 

Came  tearing  his  hair  most  piteouslie. 

“  0  !  hald  your  tongue,  my  father,”  he  says, 

“  And  see  that  ye  dinna  weep  for  me ! 

For  they  may  ravish  me  o’  my  life, 

But  they  canna  banish  me  fro  Heavin  hie. 

“  Fare  ye  weel,  fair  Maggie,  my  wife  ! 

The  last  time  we  came  ower  the  muir, 

’Twas  thou  bereft  me  of  my  life, 

And  wi’  the  Bishop  thou  play’d  the  whore. 

“  Here,  Johnie  Armstrang,  take  thou  my  sword, 

That  is  made  o’  the  metal  sae  fine  ; 

And  when  thou  eomest  to  the  English  side, 

Remember  the  death  of  Hughie  the  Graeme.”* 

*  On  mentioning  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  at  Abbotsford,  that  the  Gip¬ 
sies  were  very  partial  to  Hughie  the  Grseme,  he  caused  his  eldest  daughter, 
afterwards  Mrs.  Lockhart,  to  sing  this  ancient  Border  song,  which  she 
readily  did,  accompanying  her  voice  with  the  harp.  We  were,  at  the  time, 
in  the  room  which  contained  his  old  armour  and  other  antiquities ;  to  which 
place  he  had  asked  me,  after  tea,  to  hear  his  daughter  play  on  the  harp. 


LANGUAGE. 


309 


I  will  now  give  the  testimony  of  the  Gipsy  chief  from 
whom  I  received  the  “  blowing  up”  alluded  to,  by  Mr.  Laid- 
law,  in  the  Introduction  to  the  work.* 

One  of  the  greatest  fairs  in  Scotland  is  held,  annually,  on 
the  18th  day  of  July,  at  St.  Boswell’s  Green,  in  Roxburgh¬ 
shire.  I  paid  a  visit  to  this  fair,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
a  view  of  the  Gipsies.  An  acquaintance,  whom  I  met  at 
the  fair,  observed  to  me,  that  lie  was  sure  if  any  one  could 
give  me  information  regarding  the  Tinklers,  it  would  be  old 

- ,  the  horner,  at - .  To  ensure  a  kind  reception  from 

the  Gipsies,  it  was  agreed  upon,  between  us,  that  I  should 
introduce  myself  by  mentioning  who  my  ancestors  were,  on 
whose  numerous  farms,  (sixteen,  rented  by  my  grandfather, 
in  1781, t)  their  forefathers  had  received  many  a  night’s 
quarters,  in  their  out-houses.  We  soon  found  out  the  old 
chieftain,  sitting  in  a  tent,  in  the  midst  of  about  a  dozen  of 
his  tribe,  all  nearly  related  to  him.  The  moment  I  made 
myself  known  to  them,  the  whole  of  the  old  persons  imme¬ 
diately  expressed  their  gratitude  for  the  humane  treatment 
they,  and  their  forefathers,  had  received  at  the  farms  of  my 
relatives.  They  were  extremely  glad  to  see  me  ;  and  “  God 
bless  you,”  was  repeated  by  several  of  the  old  females.  “Ay,” 
said  they,  “  those  days  are  gone.  Christian  charity  has  now 
left  the  land.  We  know  the  people  are  growing  more  hard 
and  uncharitable  every  year.”  I  found  the  old  man  shrewd, 
sensible,  and  intelligent ;  far  beyond  what  could  have  been 
expected  from  a  person  of  his  caste  and  station  in  life.  He, 
besides,  possessed  all  that  merriness  and  jocularity  which  I 

She  sang  Ilughie  the  Grseme,  in  a  plain,  simple,  unaffected  manner,  exactly 
in  the  style  in  which  I  have  heard  the  humble  country-girls  singing  the 
same  song,  in  the  south  of  Scotland.  Sir  Walter  was  much  interested  about 
the  Gipsies;  and  when  I  repeated  to  him  a^hort  sentence  in  their  speech, 
he,  with  great  feeling,  exclaimed,  “  Poor  things  !  do  you  hear  that?”  This 
was  the  first  time,  I  believe,  that  he  ever  heard  a  Scottish  Gipsy  word 
pronounced.  It  appeared  to  me  that  the  mind  of  the  great  magician  was 
not  wholly  divested  of  the  fear  that  the  Gipsies  might,  in  some  way  or 
other,  injure  his  young  plantations. 

*  See  pages  58  and  65. — Ed. 

t  These  sixteen  farms  embraced  about  25,000  acres  of  mountainous  land, 
and  maintained  13,000  sheep,  100  goats,  250  cattle,  50  horses,  20  draught- 
oxen,  and  60  dogs  ;  2!)  shepherds,  26  other  servants,  and  15  cotters,  making, 
with  their  families,  228  souls,  supported  by  my  ancestor’s  property,  as  that 
of  a  Scotch  gentleman-farmer.  On  the  farms  mentioned,  which  lay  in  Mid- 
Lothian,  Tweed  dale,  and  Selkirkshire,  the  Gipsies  were  allowed  to  remain 
as  long  as  they  pleased ;  and  no  loss  was  ever  sustained  by  the  indulgence. 


310 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


have  often  observed  among  a  number  of  the  males  of  his 
race.  After  some  conversation  with  this  chief,  who  appeared 
about  eighty  years  of  age,  I  enquired  if  his  people,  who,  in 
large  bands,  about  sixty  years  ago,  traversed  the  south  of 
Scotland,  had  not  an  ancient  language,  peculiar  to  them¬ 
selves.  He  hesitated  a  little,  and  then  readily  replied,  that 
the  Tinklers  had  no  language  of  their  own,  except  a  few 
cant  words.  I  observed  to  him  that  he  knew  better — that 
the  Tinklers  had,  beyond  dispute,  a  language  of  their  own  ; 
and  that  I  had  some  knowledge  of  its  existence  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day.  He,  however,  declared  that  they  had  no  such  lan¬ 
guage,  and  that  I  was  wrongly  informed.  In  the  hearing 
of  all  the  Gipsies  in  the  tent,  I  repeated  to  him  four  or  five 
Gipsy  words  and  expressions.  At  this  he  appeared  amazed  ; 
and  on  my  adding  some  particulars  relative  to  some  of  the 
ancestors  of  the  tribe  then  present,  enumerating,  I  think, 
three  generations  of  their  clan,  one  of  the  old  females  ex¬ 
claimed,  “  Preserve  me,  he  kens  a’  about  us !”  The  old 
chief  immediately  took  bold  of  my  right  hand,  below  the 
table,  with  a  grasp  as  if  he  were  going  to  shake  it ;  and,  in 
a  low  and  subdued  tone  of  voice,  so  as  none  might  hear  but 
myself,  requested  me  to  say  not  another  word  in  the  place 
where  we  were  sitting,  but  to  call  on  him,  at  the  town  of 

- ,  and  he  would  converse  with  me  on  that  subject.  I 

considered  it  imprudent  to  put  any  more  questions  to  him 
relative  to  his  speech,  on  this  occasion,  and  agreed  to  meet 
him  at  the  place  he  appointed. 

Several  persons  in  the  tent,  (it  being  one  of  the  public 
booths  in  the  market,)  who  were  not  Gipsies,  were  equally 
surprised,  when  they  observed  an  understanding  immediately 
take  place  between  me  and  the  Tinklers,  by  means  of  a  few 
words,  the  meaning  of  which  they  could  not  comprehend.  A 
farmer,  from  the  south  of  Scotland,  who  was  present  in  the 
tent,  and  had  that  morning  given  the  Tinklers  a  lamb  to  eat, 
met  me,  some  days  after,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yarrow.  He 
shook  his  head, and  observed,  with  a  smile,  “  Yon  was  queer¬ 
looking  wark  wi’  the  Tinklers.'-’ 

As  I  was  anxious  to  penetrate  to  Ids  secret  speech,  I  re¬ 
solved  to  keep  the  appointment  with  the  Gipsy,  whatever 
might  be  the  result  of  our  meeting,  and  I  therefore  proceeded 
to  the  town  which  he  mentioned,  eleven  days  after  I  had 
seen  him  at  the  fair.  On  enquiring  of  the  landlord  of  the 


LANGUAGE. 


311 


principal  inn,  at  which  I  put  up  my  horse,  where  the  house 

of - ,  the  Tinkler,  was  situated  in  the  town,  lie  appeared 

surprised,  and  eyed  me  all  over.  He  told  me  the  street,  but 
said  he  would  not  accompany  me  to  the  house,  thinking  that 
I  wished  him  to  go  with  me.  It  was  evident  that  the  land¬ 
lord,  whom  I  never  saw  before,  considered  himself  in  bad 
company,  in  spite  of  my  black  clothes,  black  neck-cloth,  and 
ruffles  aforesaid,  and  was  determined  not  to  be  seen  on  the 
street,  either  with  me  or  the  Tinkler.  I  told  him  I  by  no 
means  wished  him  to  accompany  me,  but  only  to  tell  me  in 
what  part  of  the  town  the  Tinkler’s  house  was  to  be  found. 

On  entering  the  house,  I  found  the  old  chief  sitting,  with¬ 
out  his  coat,  with  an  old  night-cap  on  his  head,  a  leathern 
apron  around  his  waist,  and  all  covered  with  dust  or  soot, 
employed  in  making  spoons  from  horn.  After  conversing 
with  him  for  a  short  time,  I  reminded  him  of  the  ancient 
language  with  which  lie  was  acquainted.  He  assumed  a 
grave  countenance,  and  said  the  Tinklers  had  no  such  lan¬ 
guage,  adding,  at  the  same  time,  that  I  should  not  trouble 
myself  about  such  matters.  He  stoutly  denied  all  knowledge 
of  the  Tinkler  language,  and  said  no  such  tongue  existed  in 
Scotland,  except  a  few  cant  words.  I  persisted  in  asserting 
that  they  were  actually  in  possession  of  a  secret  language, 
and  again  tried  him  with  a  few  of  my  words  ;  but  to  no  pur¬ 
pose.  All  my  efforts  produced  no  effect  upon  his  obstinacy. 
At  this  stage  of  my  interview,  I  durst  not  mention  the  word 
Gipsy,  as  they  are  exceedingly  alarmed  at  being  known  as 
Gipsies.  I  now  signified  that  he  had  forfeited  his  protnisej 
given  me  at  the  fair,  and  rose  to  leave  him.  At  this  remark, 
I  heard  a  man  burst  out  a-laughing,  behind  a  partition  that 
ran  across  the  apartment  in  which  we  were  sitting.  The 
old  man  likewise  started  to  his  feet,  and,  with  both  his  sooty 
hands,  took  hold  of  the  breast  of  my  coat,  on  either  side, 
and,  in  this  attitude,  examined  me  closely,  scanning  me  all 
over  from  head  to  foot.  After  satisfying  himself,  lie  said, 
“  Now,  give  me  a  hold  of  your  hand — farewell — I  will  know 
you  when  I  see  you  again.”  I  bade  him  good-day,  and  left 
the  house.* 

*  I  am  convinced  the  Gipsies  have  a  method  of  communicating  with  one 
another  by  their  hands  and  fingers,  and  it  is  likely  this  man  tried  me,  in 
that  way,  both  at  the  fair  and  in  his  own  house.  I  know  a  man  who  has 
seen  the  Gipsies  communicating  their  thoughts  to  each  other  in  this  way. 

“  Bargains  among  the  Indians  are  conducted  in  the  most  profound  silence, 


S12 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


I  had  now  no  hope  of  obtaining  any  information  from  this 
man,  regarding  his  peculiar  language.  I  had  scarcely,  how¬ 
ever,  proceeded  a  hundred  yards  down  the  street,  from  the 
house,  when  I  was  overtaken  by  a  young  female,  who  re¬ 
quested  me  to  return,  to  speak  with  her  father.  I  imme¬ 
diately  complied.  On  reaching  the  door,  with  the  girl,  I 
met  one  of  the  old  man’s  sons,  who  said  that  he  had  over¬ 
heard  what  passed  between  his  father  and  me,  in  the  house. 
He  assured  me  that  his  father  was  ashamed  to  give  me  Ms 
language  ;  but  that,  if  I  would  promise  not  to  publish  their 
names,  or  place  of  residence,  he  would  himself  give  mo  some 
of  their  speech,  if  his  father  still  persevered  in  his  refusal. 
I  accordingly  agreed  not  to  make  public  the  names,  and  place 
of  residence,  of  the  family.  I  again  entered  the  little  fac¬ 
tory  of  horn  spoons.  Matters  were  now,  to  all  appearance, 
quite  changed.  The  old  man  was  very  cheerful,  and  seemed 
full  of  mirth.  “  Come  away,”  said  he ;  “  what  is  this  you 
are  asking  after  ?  I  would  advise  you  to  go  to  Mr.  Stewart, 
at  Hawick,  and.  he  will  tell  you  everything  about  our  lan¬ 
guage.”  “  Father,”  said  the  son,  who  had  resumed  his  place 
behind  the  partition  before  mentioned,  “you  know  that  Mr. 
Stewart  will  give  our  speech  to  nobody.”  The  old  chief 
again  hesitated  and  considered,  but,  being  urged  by  his  son 
and  myself,  he,  at  last,  said,  “  Come  away,  then  ;  I  will  tell 
you  whatever  you  think  proper  to  ask  me.  I  gave  you  my 
oath,  at  the  fair,  to  do  so.  Get  out  your  paper,  pen  and  ink, 
and  begin.”  He  gave  me  no  other  oath,  at  the  fair,  than  his 

and  by  merely  touching  each  other’s  hands.  If  the  seller  takes  the  whole 
hand,  it  implies  a  thousand  rupees  or  pagodas ;  five  fingers  import  five 
hundred  ;  one  finger,  one  hundred ;  half  a  finger,  fifty ;  a  single  joint  only 
ten.  In  this  manner,  they  will  often,  in  a  crowded  room,  conclude  the  most 
important  transactions,  without  the  company  suspecting  that  anything 
whatever  was  doing.” — Historical  Account  of  Travels  in  Asia,  by  Hugh 
Murray. 

“Method  of  the  English  selling  their  cargoes,  at  Jedda,  to  the  Turks  : 
Two  Indian  brokers  come  into  the  room  to  settle  the  price,  one  on  the  part 
of  the  Indian  captain,  the  other  on  that  of  the  buyer  or  Turk.  They  are 
neither  Mahommedans  nor  Christians,  but  have  credit  with  both.  They  sit 
down  on  the  carpet,  and  take  an  Indian  shawl,  which  they  carry  on  their 
shoulders  like  a  napkin,  and  spread  it  over  their  hands.  They  talk,  in  the 
meantime,  indifferent  conversation,  of  the  arrival  of  ships  from  India,  or  of 
the  news  of  the  day,  as  if  they  were  employed  in  no  serious  business  what¬ 
ever.  After  about  twenty  minutes  spent  in  handling  each  other’s  fingers, 
below  the  shawl,  the  bargain  is  concluded,  say  for  nine  ships,  without  one 
word  ever  having  been  spoken  on  the  subject,  or  pen  or  ink  used  in  any 
shape  whatever.” — Bruce's  Travels. 


LANGUAGE. 


313 


ward,  and  taking  me  by  the  hand,  that  lie  would  converse 
with  me  regarding  the  speech  of  the  Tinklers.  But,  I  be¬ 
lieve,  joining  hands  is  considered  an  oath  in  some  countries 
of  the  Eastern  world.  I  was  fully  convinced,  however,  that 
lie  was  ashamed  to  give  me  his  speech,  and  that  it  was  with 
the  greatest  reluctance  he  spoke  one  word  on  the  subject. 
The  following-are  the  words  and  sentences  which  I  collected 
from  him  :* 


Pagrie,  to  break. 
Hu mf,  give  me. 
Afar,  to  strike. 
Alang ,  to  speak. 


Kair,  house. 

Prom,  street  or  road. 
Vile,  village. 

Gave,  village. 


*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  the  reason  for  this  old  Gipsy  chief  being  so 
backward  in  giving  our  author  some  of  his  language.  “  He  was  ashamed 
to  do  it.”  Pity  it  is  that  there  should  be  a  man  in  Scotland,  who,  indepen¬ 
dent  of  personal  character,  should  be  ashamed  of  such  a  thing.  Then,  see 
how  the  Gipsy  woman,  in  our  author’s  house,  said  that  “  the  public  would 
look  upon  her  with  horror  and  contempt,  were  it  known  she  could  speak  the 
Gipsy  language.”  And  again,  the  two  female  Gipsies,  who  would  rather 
allow  themselves  to  be  murdered,  than  give  the  meaning  of  two  Gipsy 
words  to  Sauchie  colliers,  for  the  reason  that  “  it  would  have  exposed  their 
tribe,  and  made  themselves  odious  to  the  world.”  And  all  for  knowing  the 
Gipsy  language  ! — which  would  be  considered  an  accomplishment  in  an¬ 
other  person  !  What  frightful  tyranny  !  Mr.  Borrow,  as  we  will  by  and 
by  see,  says  a  great  deal  about  the  law  of  Charles  III,  in  regard  to  the  pros¬ 
pects  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies.  But  there  is  a  law  above  any  legislative 
enactment — the  law  of  society,  of  one’s  fellow-creatures — which  bears  so 
hard  upon  the  Gipsies  ;  the  despotism  of  caste.  If  Gipsies,  in  such  humble 
circumstances,  are  so  afraid  of  being  known  to  be  Gipsies,  we  can  form  some 
idea  of  the  morbid  sensitiveness  of  those  in  a  higher  sphere  of  life. 

The  innkeeper  evidently  thought  himself  in  bad  company,  when  our  au¬ 
thor  asked  him  for  the  Tinkler’s  house,  or  that  any  intercourse  with  a  Tink¬ 
ler  would  contaminate  and  degrade  him.  In  this  light,  read  an  anecdote 
in  the  history  of  John  Bunyan,  who  was  one  of  the  same  people,  as  I  shall 
afterwards  show.  In  applying  for  his  release  from  Bedford  jail,  his  wife 
said  to  Justice  Ilale,  “  Moreover,  my  lord,  I  have  four  small  children  that 
cannot  help  themselves,  of  which  one  is  blind,  and  we  have  nothing  to  live 
upon  but  the  charity  of  good  people.”  Thereat,  Justice  Hale,  looking  very 
soberly  on  the  matter,  said,  “  Alas,  poor  woman  !”  “  What  is  his  calling?” 

continued  the  judge.  And  some  of  the  company,  that  stood  by,  said,  (evi¬ 
dently  in  interruption,  and  with  a  bitter  sneer,)  “  A  Tinker,  my  lord  1” 
“  Yes,”  replied  Bunyan’s  wife,  “and  because  he  (3  a  Tinker,  and  a  poor 
man,  therefore  he  is  despised,  and  cannot  have  justice.”  Noble  woman  ! 
wife  of  a  noble  Gipsy  1  If  the  world  wishes  to  know  who  John  Bunyan 
really  was,  it  can  find  him  depicted  in  our  author’s  visit  to  this  Scottish 
Gipsy  family,  where  it  can  also  learn  the  meaning  of  Bunyan,  at  a  time 
when  Jews  were  legally  excluded  from  England,  taking  so  much  trouble  to 
ascertain  whether  he  was  of  that  race,  or  not.  From  the  present  work 
generally,  the  world  can  learn  the  reason  why  Bunyan  said  nothing  of  his 
ancestry  and  nationality,  when  giving  an  account  of  his  own  history. — Ed. 

14 


314 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Jaw  drom ,  take  the  road,  get 

Bakra ,  sheep. 

off  quickly. 

Match ka ,  cat. 

Hatch  here ,  come  here. 

Bashanie,  cock. 

Bing,  the  devil. 

Caunie,  hen. 

Bing  lee ,  devil  miss  me. 

Thood,  milk. 

Moolie ,  death. 

Molzie ,  wine. 

Moolie ,  I’ll  kill  you. 

Bulliment ,  loaf  of  bread. 

Mooled ,  murdered. 

Heddie ,  potato. 

Moolie  a  gaugie,  kill  the  man. 

Shaucha,  broth. 

Bowiskie ,  gun  or  pistol. 

Mass,  flesh. 

Harro ,  sword. 

Hahben ,  bread. 

Shammel,  sword. 

Pavplers,  pottage. 

Chourie ,  knife. 

Paunie,  water. 

Raclilin,  hanged. 

Paurie ,  water. 

Sallah *,  to  curse. 

Mumlie,  candle. 

Klistie ,  soldier. 

Blinkie,  candle. 

Hash,  deserter. 

Flatrin ,  fish. 

Grye-femler ,  horse-dealer. 

Chizcazin ,  cheese. 

Staurdie,  prison. 

Romanic ,  whiskey. 

Hak,  nose. 

Casties ,  wood. 

Yak ,  eye. 

Filsh,  tree. 

Yaka ,  eyes. 

Lodlie,  quarters. 

Mooie,  mouth. 

Choar,  to  steal. 

Vast,  hand. 

Chor,  a  thief. 

Sherro,  head 

Bumie,  to  drink. 

Femmel ,  hand. 

Jaw  vree,  go  away. 

Bowie,  coin  or  money. 

Gravnzie ,  barn. 

Lowa ,  silver. 

Graunagie,  barn. 

Curdie,  half-penny. 

Clack,  stone. 

Bar,  live  shillings. 

Yak,  fire. 

Size,  six. 

Peerie,  pot. 

Grye,  horse. 

Treepie,  pot-lid. 

Greliam,  horse. 

Roy ,  spoon. 

Prancie ,  horse. 

Skew,  platter. 

Aizel,  ass. 

Swag,  sack. 

Jucal,  dog. 

Ingrims ,  pincers. 

Boutler ,  cow. 

*  Sallah,  in  the  Scottish  Gipsy  speech,  properly  signifies  accursed,  or  de¬ 
tested.  It  is  one  of  the  most  abusive  expressions  that  can  be  used  towards 
your  fellow  creatures.  Nothing  terrifies  a  young  Gipsy  so  much  as  to  bawl 
out  to  him,  “  Sallah,  jaw  drom,”  which,  in  plain  English,  nearly  means, 
“  You  accursed,  take  the  road.” 

It  appears  that,  in  Hindostanee,  Salla  is  a  word  of  the  highest  reproach, 
and  that  nothing  can  provoke  a  Hindoo  so  much  as  the  applying  of  it  to 
him.  When  cursing  and  swearing,  by  what  would  appear  to  be  the  Deity, 
the  Gipsies  make  use  of  the  word  Sallahen. 


LANGUAGE. 


315 


Yag-ingrims ,  fire-irons. 
Sauster,  iron. 

Mashlam ,  brass  or  metal. 
Fizam ,  grass. 

Penum ,  hay. 

Geeve,  corn. 

Greenam ,  corn. 

Beerie ,  ship. 

Outhrie ,  window, 
horn. 

Shuclia ,  coat. 

/See/,  hat. 

Gogle,  hat. 

Cockle,  hat. 

Calshes,  breeches. 

Teeyakas ,  shoes. 

Olivers,  stockings. 

Beenship,  good. 

Baurie,  good. 

Shan,  bad. 

Range,  mad. 

Riah,  Rajah,  chief,  governor. 
.Seerc  ria/t,  the  king. 

2?een  wtorf,  the  queen. 

Been  gaugie,  gentleman. 


Seen,  ria^,  gentleman. 

morl,  lady. 

Yagger,  collier. 

Nawken*  Tinkler,  Gipsy. 
Davies,  day. 

Rat,  night. 

Beenship  mashlam ,  good  metal 
Beensliip-rat,  good-night. 
Beenlightment ,  Sabbath-day. 
Shan  drom,  bad  road. 

Shan  davies,  bad  day. 

Gaugie,  man. 

Managie,  woman. 

Mart,  wife. 

Chavo,  son. 

Chauvies,  children. 

Praw,  son. 

Prawl,  daughter. 

Nais-gaugie,  grandfather. 
Nais-mort,  grandmother. 
Aukaman ,  marriage. 

Carie,  penis. 

Bight,  pudenda. 

Sjair,  to  ease  nature. 

Jair  dah,  a  woman’s  apron. 


I  was  desirous  to  learn,  from  this  Gipsy,  if  there  were  any 
traditions  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  as  to  their  origin, 
and  the  country  from  which  they  came.  He  stated  that  the 
language  of  which  he  had  given  me  a  specimen  was  an  Ethi¬ 
opian  dialect,  used  by  a  tribe  of  thieves  and  robbers  ;  and 
that  the  Gipsies  were  originally  from  Ethiopia,  although 
now  called  Gipsies.t  He  now  spoke  of  himself  and  his 
tribe  by  the  name  of  Gipsies,  -without  hesitation  or  alarm. 
“  Our  Gipsy  language,”  added  he,  “  is  softer  than  your  harsh 
Gaelic.”  He  was  at  considerable  pains  to  give  me  the 
proper  sound  of  the  words.  The  letter  a  is  pronounced  broad 

*  Nawken  has  a  number  of  significations,  such  as  Tinkler,  Gipsy,  a  wan¬ 
derer,  a  worker  in  iron,  a  man  who  can  do  anything  for  himself  in  the 
mechanical  arts,  <fcc.,  <fcc. 

f  The  tradition  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies  of  being  Ethiopians,  what¬ 
ever  weight  the  reader  may  attach  to  it,  dates  as  far  back,  at  least,  ns  the 
year  1615;  for  it  is  mentioned  in  the  remission  under  the  privy  seal, 
granted  to  William  Auehterlony,  of  Cayrine,  for  resetting  John  Faa  arid 
Ills  followers.  See  page  113. — Ed. 


316  A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 

% 

in  their  language,  like  aw  in  paw,  or  a  in  water  ;  and  ie,  or 
ee,  in  the  last  syllable  of  a  great  many  words,  are  sounded 
short  and  quick  ;  and  cli  soft,  as  in  church.  Their  speech 
appears  to  be  copious,  for,  said  he,  they  have  a  great 
many  words  and  expressions  for  one  thing.  He  further 
stated  that  the  Gipsy  language  has  no  alphabet,  or  character, 
by  which  it  can  be  learned,  or  its  grammatical  construction 
ascertained.  He  never  saw  any  of  it  written.  1  observed 
to  him  that  it  would,  in  course  of  time,  be  lost.  He  replied, 
that  “  so  long  as  there  existed  two  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  it 
would  never  be  lost.”  He  informed  me  that  every  one  of 
the  Yetholm  Tinklers  spoke  the  language;  and  that  almost 
all  those  persons  who  were  selling  earthen-ware  at  St.  Bos¬ 
well’s  fair  were  Gipsies.  I  counted  myself  twenty-four  fami¬ 
lies,  with  earthen-ware,  and  nine  female  heads  of  families, 
selling  articles  made  of  horn.  These  thirty-three  fami¬ 
lies,  together  with  a  great  many  single  Gipsies  scattered 
through  the  fair,  would  amount  to  above  three  hundred  Gip¬ 
sies  on  the  spot.  He  further  mentioned  that  none  of  the 
Yetholm  Gipsies  were  at  the  market.  The  old  man  also  in¬ 
formed  me  that  a  great  number  of  our  horse-dealers  are 
Gipsies.  “  Listen  attentively,”  said  he,  “  to  our  horse-coup- 
ers,  in  a  market,  and  you  will  hear  them  speaking  in  the 
Gipsy  tongue.”  I  enquired  how  many  there  were  in  Scot¬ 
land  acquainted  with  the  language.  He  answered,  “  There 
are  several  thousand.”  I  further  enquired,  if  he  thought  the 
Gipsy  population  would  amount  to  five  thousand  souls.  He 
replied  he  was  sure  there  were  fully  five  thousand  of  his 
tribe  in  Scotland.  It  was  further  stated  to  me,  by  this  fam¬ 
ily,  that  the  Gipsies  arc  at  great  pains  in  teaching  their 
children,  from  their  very  infancy,  their  own  language  ;  and 
that  they  embrace  every  opportunity,  when  by  themselves, 
Qf  conversing  in  it,  about  their  ordinary  affairs.  They  also 
pride  themselves  very  much  in  being  in  possession  of  a 
speech  peculiar  to  themselves — quite  unknown  to  the  public. 

I  then  sent  for  some  spirits  wherewith  to  treat  the  old 
chief ;  but  I  was  cautioned,  by  one  of  the  family,  not  to 
press  him  to  drink  much,  as,  from  his  advanced  age  and  in¬ 
firmities,  little  did  him  harm.  The  moment  you  speak  to 
an  intelligent  Gipsy  chief,  in  a  familiar  and  kindly  manner, 
putting  yourself,  as  it  were,  on  a  level  with  him,  you  find 
him  entirely  free  from  all  embarrassment  in  his  manners. 


LANGUAGE. 


317 


He  speaks  to  you,  at  once,  in  a  free*  independent,  confident, 
emphatic  tone,  without  any  rudeness  in  his  way  of  address¬ 
ing  you.  He  never  loses  his  self-possession.  The  old  chief¬ 
tain  sang  part  of  a  Gipsy  song,  in  his  own  language,  but  he 
would  not  allow  me  to  write  it  down.*  Indeed,  by  his  man¬ 
ner,  he  seemed  frequently  to  hesitate  whether  he  would  pro¬ 
ceed  any  further  in  giving  me  information,  and  appeared  to 
regret  that  he  had  gone  so  far  as  he  had  done.  I  now 
and  then  stopped  him  in  his  song,  and  asked  him  the  mean¬ 
ing  of  some  of  the  expressions.  It  was,  however,  intermixed 
with  a  few  English  words ;  perhaps  every  fifth  word  was 
English.  The  Gipsy  words,  graunzie  (barn),  caunies  (chick¬ 
ens),  molzie  (wine),  staurdie  (prison),  mort  and  cJiauvies 
(wife  and  children),  were  often  repeated.  In  short,  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  the  song  was  that  of  a  Gipsy,  lying  in  chains  in 
prison,  lamenting  that  he  could  not  support  his  wife  and 
children  by  plunder  and  robbery.  The  Gipsy  was  repre¬ 
sented  as  mourning  over  his  hard  fate,  deprived  of  his  liberty, 
confined  in  a  dungeon,  and  expressing  the  happiness  and  de¬ 
light  which  he  had  when  free,  and  would  have  were  he  lying 
in  a  barn,  or  out-house,  living  upon  poultry,  and  drinking 
wine  with  his  tribc.f 

This  family,  like  all  their  race,  now  became  much  alarmed 
at  their  communications  ;  and  it  required  considerable  trou¬ 
ble  on  my  part  to  allay  their  fears.  The  old  man  was  in 
the  greatest  anguish  of  mind,  at  having  committed  himself 
at  all,  relative  to  his  speech.  I  was  very  sorry  for  his  dis¬ 
tress,  and  renewed  my  promise  not  to  publish  his  name,  or 
place  of  residence,  assuring  him  he  had  nothing  to  fear.  It 

*  The  Scottish  Gipsies  have  doubtless  an  oral  literature,  like  their  breth¬ 
ren  in  other  countries.  It  would  be  strange  indeed  if  they  did  not  rank  as 
high,  in  that  respect,  as  many  of  the  barbarous  tribes  in  the  world.  People 
so  situated,  with  no  written  language,  are  wonderfully  apt  at  picking  up, 
and  retaining,  any  composition  that  oontains  poetry  and  music,  to  which 
oral  literature  is  chiefly  confined.  In  that  respect,  their  faculties,  like  those 
of  the  blind,  are  sharpened  by  the  wants  which  others  do  not  experience  in 
indulging  a  feeling  common  to  all  mankind. 

A  striking  instance  of  a  people,  unacquainted  with  the  art  of  writing, 
possessing  a  literature,  is  said  to  have  been  found  in  Hawaii ;  and  to  such 
an  extent,  as  to  “  possess  a  force  and  compass  that,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
study  of  it,  would  not  have  been  credited.” — En. 

f  A  song  which  a  female  Gipsy  sang  to  Mr.  Borrow,  at  Moscow,  com¬ 
menced  in  this  way,  “  Her  head  is  aching  with  grief,  as  if  she  had  tasted 
wine and  ended  thus,  “  lhat  she  may  depart  in  quest  of  the  lord  of  her 
bosom,  and  share  his  joys  and  pleasures.” — Ed. 


318 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


is  now  many  years  since  he  died.  He  was  considered  a  very 
decent,  honest  man,  and  was  a  great  favourite  with  thos« 
who  were  acquainted  with  him.  But  his  wife,  and  somt 
other  members  of  his  family,  followed  the  practices  of  theii 
ancestors. 

Publish  their  language  !  Give  to  the  world  that  which 
they  had  kept  to  themselves,  with  so  much  solicitude,  so 
much  tenacity,  so  much  fidelity,  for  three  hundred  and  fifty 
years  !  A  parallel  to'  such  a  phenomenon  cannot  be  found 
within  the  whole  range  of  history.*  What  will  the  Tinklers, 
the  “  poor  things,”  as  Sir  Walter  Scott  so  feelingly  called 
them — what  will  they  think  of  me,  after  the  publication  of 
the  present  work  ?t 

H  Smith,  in  his  “  Hebrew  people,”  writes :  “  The  Jews  had  almost  lost,  in 
the  seventy  years’  captivity,  their  original  language  ;  that  was  now  become 
dead  ;  and  they  spoke  a  jargon  made  up  of  their  own  language  and  that  of 
the  Chaldeans,  and  other  nations  with  whom  they  had  mingled.  Formerly, 
preachers  had  only  explained  subjects  ;  now,  they  were  obliged  to  explain 
words  ;  words  which,  in  the  sacred  code,  were  become  obsolete,  equivocal, 
dead.” — Ed. 

f  The  Gipsies  have  been  much  annoyed,  in  late  times,  by  people  anxious 
to  find  out  their  secrets.  The  circumstance  caused  them,  at  first,  much 
alarm  as  to  what  it  meant;  but  when  they  came  to  learn  the  object  of  this 
modern  Gipsy -hunting,  they  became,  in  a  measure,  reconciled  to  their  trou¬ 
bles;  for  they  were  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  labours  of  these  inquisitive 
people  would,  in  the  language  of  Ruthven,  “  be  in  vain.”  But  the  attempt 
of  our  author,  with  his  “  open  sesame,”  caused  not  a  few  of  them  to  travel 
through  life  with  the  weight  of  a  millstone  hanging  about  their  necks, 
which  the  publication,  now,  is  perhaps  calculated  to  lighten.  The  “  giving 
to  the  world  everything  relative  to  their  tribe,”  was  something  they  were 
more  apt  to  over  than  underestimate.  To  be  “  put  in  the  papers,”  judg¬ 
ing  from  the  horror  with  which  such  is  regarded  by  our  own  humble  peo¬ 
ple,  was  bad  enough  ;  still,  the  end  of  that  would,  in  their  peculiar  way  of 
thinking,  bo  merely  the  “  lighting  of  the  candles,  and  curling  the  hair,  of 
the  gentle  folk.”  But  to  have  themselves  put  in  a  book — to  see  themselves, 
in  their  imaginations,  “  carried  about  in  every  bit  herd-laddie’s  pouch,”  was 
something  that  aggravated  them.  The  presumptuous  pride,  the  overween¬ 
ing  conceit  of  a  high-mettled  Scottish  Gipsy ;  his  boasted  descent — a  des¬ 
cent  at  once  high,  illustrious,  and  lost  in  antiquity;  his  unbounded  con¬ 
tempt  for  the  rabble  of  town  and  country  —  rendered  him,  under  the  cir¬ 
cumstances,  almost  incapable  of  brooking  the  idea  of  seeing  his  race 
exposed  to,  what  he  would  consider,  the  ridicule  of  the  very  herds.  The 
very  idea  of  it  was  to  him  mortifying  and  maddening.  Well  might  our 
author,  from  having  been  so  much  mixed  up  with  the  Gipsies,  show  some 
hesitancy  ere  taking  a  step  that  would,  have  brought  such  a  nest  of  hornets 
about  his  ears.  But,  all  things  considered,  my  impression  is,  that  the  out¬ 
door  Gipsies,  at  the  present  day,  will  feel  extremely  proud  of  the  present 
work ;  and  that  the  same  may  be  said  of  all  classes  of  them,  if  one  subject 
had  been  excluded  from  the  volume,  over  which  they  will  be  very  apt  to 
growl  a  little  in  secret.— Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


319 


"While  walking  one  clay,  with  a  friend,  around  the  harbour 
of  Grangemouth,  I  observed  a  man,  who  appeared  above 
seventy  years  of  age,  carrying  a  small  wooden  box  on  his 
shoulder,  a  leathern  apron  tied  around  his  waist,  with  a 
whitish  coloured  bull-dog  following  him.  He  was  enquir¬ 
ing  of  the  crews  of  the  vessels  in  the  port,  whether  they  had 
any  pots,  kettles,  or  pans  to  repair.  Just  as  my  friend  and 
I  came  up  to  him,  on  the  quay,  I  said  to  him,  in  a  familiar 
manner,  as  if  I  knew  exactly  what  he  was,  “  Baurie  jucal” 
words  which  signify,  in  the  Gipsy  language,  a  “  good  dog.” 
Being  completely  taken  by  surprise,  the  old  man  turned 
quickly  round,  and,  looking  down  at  his  dog,  said,  without 
thinking  what  he  was  about,  “  Yes,  the  dog  is  not  bad.” 
But  the  words  had  scarcely  escaped  his  lips  ere  he  affected 
not  to  comprehend  my  question,  after  he  had  distinctly  an¬ 
swered  it.  He  looked  exceedingly  foolish,  and  afforded  my 
friend  a  hearty  laugh,  at  his  attempt  at  recovering  himself. 
He  became  agitated  and  angry,  and  called  out,  “  What  do 
you  mean  ?  I  don’t  understand  you — yes,  the  dog  is  hairy  ” 
I  said  not  another  word,  nor  took  any  further  notice  of  him, 
but  passed  on,  in  case  of  provoking  him  to  mischief.  He 
stood  stock-still  upon  the  spot,  and,  keeping  his  eyes  fixed 
upon  me,  as  long  as  I  was  in  sight,  appeared  to  be  consider¬ 
ing  with  himself  what  I  could  be,  or  whether  he  might  not 
have  seen  me  before.  He  looked  so  surprised  and  alarmed, 
that  he  could  scarcely  trust  bimself  in  the  place,  since  he 
found,  to  a  certainty,  that  his  grand  secret  was  known.  I 
saw  him  a  short  while  afterwards,  at  a  little  distance,  with 
his  glasses  on,  sitting  on  the  ground,  in  the  manner  of  the 
East,  with  his  hammers  and  files,  tin  and  copper,  about  him, 
repairing  cooking  utensils  belonging  to  a  vessel  in  the  basin  ; 
with  his  trusty  jucal,  sitting  close  at  his  back,  like  a  senti¬ 
nel,  to  defend  him.  The  truth  is,  I  was  not  very  fond  of 
having  anything  further  to  do  with  this  member  of  the  tribe, 
in  case  he  had  resented  my  interference  with  him  and  his 
speech.  This  old  man  wore  a  long  great-coat,  and  exter¬ 
nally  looked  exactly  like  a  blacksmith.  No  one  of  ordinary 
observation  could  have  perceived  him  to  be  a  Gipsy  ;  as 
there  were  no  striking  peculiarities  of  expression  about  his 
countenance,  which  indicated  him  as  being  one  of  that  race. 
I  was  surprised  at  my  own  discovery. 

A  Gipsy  informed  me  that  almost  all  our  thimble-riggers, 


320 


A  BISTORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


or  “  thimble-men,”  as  they  are  sometimes  called,  are  a  supe¬ 
rior  class  of  Gipsies,  and  converse  in  the  Gipsy  language. 
In  the  summer  of  1836,  an  opportunity  presented  itself  to 
me  to  verify  the  truth  of  this  information.  On  a  by-road, 
between  Edinburgh  and  Newhaven,  I  fell  in  with  a  band  of 
these  thimble-riggers,  employed  at  their  nefarious  occupa¬ 
tion.  The  band  consisted  of  six  individuals,  all  personating 
different  characters  of  the  community.  Some  had  the  ap 
pearance  of  mercantile  clerks,  and  others  represented  young 
farmers,  or  dealers  in  cattle,  of  inferior  appearance.  The 
man  in  charge  of  the  board  and  thimbles  looked  like  a 
journeyman  blacksmith  or  plumber.  They  all  pretended  to 
be  strangers  to  each  other.  Some  were  betting  and  playing, 
and  others  looking  on,  and  acting  as  decoys.  None  besides 
themselves  were  present,  except  myself,  a  young  lad,  and  a 
respectable-looking  elderly  female.  I  stood  and  looked  at 
the  band  for  a  little  ;  but  as  nobody  was  playing  but  them¬ 
selves,  the  man  with  the  thimbles,  to  lead  me  on,  urged  me 
to  bet  with  him,  and  try  my  fortune  at  his  board.  1  said  I 
did  not  intend  to  play,  and  was  only  looking  at  them.  I 
took  a  steady  look  at  the  faces  of  each  of  the  six  villains  ; 
but,  whenever  their  eyes  caught  mine,  they  looked  away,  or 
down  to  the  ground,  verifying  the  saying  that  a  rogue  can¬ 
not  look  you  in  the  face.  The  man  at  the  board  again 
urged  me  to  play,  and,  with  much  vapouring  and  insolence, 
took  out  a  handful  of  notes,  and  said  he  had  many  hundreds 
a  year  ;  that  I  was  a  poor,  shabby  fellow,  and  had  no  money 
on  me,  and,  therefore,  could  not  bet  with  him.  I  desired 
him  to  let  me  alone,  otherwise  I  would  let  them  see  I  was 
not  to  be  insulted,  and  that  I  knew  more  about  them  than 
they  were  aware  of.  “  Who  the  devil  are  you,  sir,  to  speak 
to  us  in  that  manner,”  was  the  answer  I  received.  I  again 
replied,  that,  if  they  continued  their  insolence,  I  would 
show  them  who  I  was.  This  only  provoked  them  the  more, 
and  encrcased  their  violent  behaviour.  High  words  then 
arose,  and  the  female  alluded  to,  thinking  I  was  in  danger, 
kindly  entreated  me  to  leave  them.  I  now  thought  it  time 
to  try  what  effect  my  Gipsy  words  would  produce  upon 
them.  In  an  authoritative  tone  of  voice,  I  called  out  to 
them,  “  Chee,  cheel"  which,  in  the  Scottish  Gipsy  language, 
signifies  “Hold  your  tongue,”  “be  silent,”  or  “silence.”* 

*  A  lady,  who  had  been  seventeen  years  in  India,  told  me  that  “  Chee, 


LANGUAGE. 


321 


The  surprised  thimble-men  were  instantly  silent.  They 
spoke  not  a  word,  but  looked  at  one  another.  Only,  one 
of  them  whispered  to  his  companions,  “  He  is  not  to  be 
meddled  with.”  They  immediately  took  up  their  board, 
thimbles  and  all,  and  left  the  place,  apparently  in  consider¬ 
able  alarm,  some  taking  one  direction  and  some  another. 
The  female  in  question  was  also  surprised  at  seeing  their 
insolent  conduct  repressed,  in  a  moment,  by  a  single  expres¬ 
sion.  “  But,  sir,”  said  she,  “  what  was  that  you  said  to 
them,  for  they  seem  afraid  ?”  I  was  myself  afraid  to  say 
another  word  to  them,  and  took  care  they  did  not  see  me 
go  to  my  dwelling-house.* 

One  of  the  favourite,  and  permanent,  fields  of  operation  of 
these  thimblers  is  on  the  Queensferry  road,  from  where  it  is 

chee"  was,  in  Hindostanee,  an  expression  of  reproof,  corresponding  exactly 
with  our  “  Fie,  shame  !”  “  Oh  fie,  shame  !” 

*  About  four  years  after  this  occurrence,  I  was  invited  to  dine  at  the 
house  of  a  friend,  with  whose  wife  I  was  not  acquainted.  On  being  introduced 
to  her,  I  was  rather  surprised  at  the  repeated  hard  looks  which  she  took  at 
me.  At  last  she  said,  “  I  think  I  have  seen  you  before.  Were  you  never 
engaged  with  a  band  of  thimble-men,  near  Newhaven?”  I  said  I  was, 
some  years  ago.  “  Do  you  recollect,”  continued  she,  “  of  a  female  taking 
you  by  the  arm,  and  urging  you  to  leave  them  ?”  I  said,  “  Perfectly.” 
“  Well,  then,  I  am  the  female  ;  and  I  yet  recollect  your  words  were  Chee, 
chee.”  She  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  her  husband  at  the  time  ;  but  he 
always  said  to  her  that  I  must  have  been  only  one  of  the  blackguards 
themselves,  deceiving  her.  lie  would  not  listen  to  her  when  she  described 
me  as  not  at  all  like  a  thimble-rigger,  but  always  answered  her,  “  I  tell  ye, 
woman,  the  man  you  spoke  to  was  nothing  but  one  of  these  villains.” 

The  thimble-riggers  who  molested  Mr.  Rose,  ship-builder,  so  much,  also 
answered  my  Gipsy  words  distinctly;  and,  ever  afterwards,  took  off  their 
hats  to  me,  as  I  passed  them  playing  at  their  game. 

[The  thimble-men  here  alluded  to  took  up  their  quarters  immediately  to 
the  west  of  Leith  Fort,  where  the  road  takes  a  turn,  at  a  right  angle,  a 
little  in  front  of  Mr.  Rose’s  house,  and  there  takes  a  similar  turn  towards 
the  west :  the  best  position  for  carrying  on  the  thimble  game.  So  exas¬ 
perated  was  this  gentleman,  when,  by  every  means  in  his  power,  he  failed 
to  dislodge  them,  that  he  sent  some  of  the  men  from  his  yard,  to  erect,  on 
the  spot,  a  pole,  which  he  covered  with  sheet-iron,  to  prevent  its  being  cut 
down ;  and  placed  on  the  top  of  it  a  board,  having  this  upon  it,  “  Beware 
of  thimble-riggers  and  chain-droppers,”  with  a  hand  pointing  directly 
below.  This  had  no  effect,  howTever,  for  the  “  knights  of  the  thimble”  pur¬ 
sued  their  game  right  under  it.  A  gentleman,  in  passing  one  day,  directed 
their  attention  to  the  board,  but  the  only  reply  he  got  was,  “  Bah  !  that’s 
nothing.  Where  can  you  find  a  shop  without  a  sign  V  and  where ’s  the 
other  person  that  gets  a  sign  from  the  public  for  nothing  ?” 

Thimble-rigging  is  peculiarly  a  Gipsy  game.  In  Great  Britain,  the 
Gipsies  nearly  monopolize  it ;  and  it  would  be  singular  if  some  of  the 
American  thimblers  were  not  Gipsies. — Ed.] 

14* 


322 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


intersected  by  the  street  leading  from  the  back  of  Leith 
Fort,  on  the  east,  to  the  new  road  leading  from  Granton 
pier,  on  the  west.  This  part  of  the  Queensferry  road  is 
intersected  by  about  half-a-dozcn  cross-roads,  all  leading 
from  the  landing  and  shipping  places  at  the  piers  of 
Granton,  Trinity,  and  Newhaven.  These  cross-roads  are 
cut  by  three  roads  running  nearly  parallel  to  each  other, 
viz.,  the  road  along  the  sea-beach,  Trinity  road,  and  the 
Queensferry  road.  A  great  portion  of  the  passengers,  by 
the  many  steamboats,  pass  along  all  these  different  roads, 
to  and  from  Edinburgh.  On  all  of  these  roads,  between  the 
water  of  Leith  and  the  Forth,  the  thimble-riggers  station 
themselves,  as  single  individuals,  or  in  numbers,  as  it  may 
answer  their  purpose.  In  fact,  this  part  of  the  country 
between  the  sea  and  Edinburgh,  is  so  much  chequered  by 
roads  crossing  each  other,  that  it  may  be  compared  to  the 
meshes  of  a  spider’s  web,  and  the  thimblers  as  so  many 
spiders,  watching  to  pounce  upon  their  prey.  The  moment 
one  of  these  sentinels  observes  a  stranger  appear,  signals  are 
made  to  his  confederates,  when  their  organized  plan  of 
operations  for  entrapping  the  unwary  person  is  imme¬ 
diately  put  in  execution.  Strangers,  unacquainted  with  the 
locality,  are  greatly  bewildered  among  all  the  cross-roads 
mentioned,  and  have  considerable  difficulty  in  threading 
their  way  to  the  city.  One  of  the  gang  will  then  step  for¬ 
ward,  and,  pretending  to  be  a  stranger  himself,  will  enquire 
of  the  others  the  road  to  such  and  such  a  place.  Frequently 
the  unsuspecting  and  bewildered  individual  will  enquire  of 
the  thimbler  for  some  street  or  place  in  Edinburgh.  The 
decoy  and  the  victim  now  walk  in  company,  and  converse 
familiarly  together  on  various  topics  ;  the  thimbler  offers 
snuff  to  his  friend,  and  makes  himself  as  agreeable  as  he 
can  ;  while  one  of  the  gang,  at  a  distance  in  front,  drops  a 
watch,  chain,  or  other  piece  of  mock  jewelry,  or  commences 
playing  at  the  thimble-board.  The  decoy  is  sure  to  lead 
his  dupe  exactly  to  the  spot  where  the  trap  is  laid,  and 
where  he  will  probably  be  plundered.  One  of  these  entrap- 
ments  terminated  in  the  death  of  its  subject.  A  working 
man,  having  risked  his  half-year’s  wages  at  the  thimble- 
board,  of  course  lost  every  farthing  of  the  money  ;  and  took 
the  loss  so  much  to  heart  as,  in  a  fit  of  despondency,  to 
drown  himself  in  the  water  of  Leith. 


LANGUAGE. 


323 


In  the  beginning  of  1842, 1  fell  in  with  six  of  these  thim¬ 
ble-riggers  and  chain-droppers,  on  Newhaven  road,  on  their 
way  to  Edinburgh.  I  was  anxious  to  discover  the  nature 
of  their  conversation,  and  kept  as  close  to  them  as  I  could, 
without  exciting  their  suspicion.  Like  that  of  most  people 
brought  up  in  one  particular  line  of  life,  their  conversation 
related  wholly  to  their  own  trade — that  of  swindling,  theft, 
and  robbery.  I  overheard  them  speaking  of  “  bloody  swells,” 
and  of  dividing  their  booty.  One  of  them  was  desired  by 
the  others  to  look  after  a  certain  steamboat,  expected  to 
arrive,  and  to  get  a  bill  to  ascertain  its  movements  exactly. 
He  said  he  would  “  require  three  men  to  take  care  of  that 
boat”  ;  meaning,  as  I  understood  him,  that  all  these  men 
were  necessary  for  laying  his  snares,  and  executing  his 
designs  upon  the  unsuspecting  passengers,  as  they  landed 
from  the  vessel,  and  were  on  their  way  to  their  destinations. 
The  manager  of  the  steamboat  company  could  not  have 
consulted  with  his  subordinates,  about  their  lawful  affairs, 
witli  more  care  and  deliberation,  or  in  a  more  cool,  business¬ 
like  way,  than  were  these  villains  in  contriving  plans  for 
plundering  the  public.  On  their  approach  to  Pilrig  street,  the 
band  separated  into  pairs  ;  some  taking  the  north,  and  some 
the  south,  side  of  Leith  walk,  for  Edinburgh,  where  they 
vanished  in  the  crowd.  Their  language  was  fearful,  every 
expression  being  accompanied  by  a  terrible  oath. 

On  another  occasion,  I  fell  in  with  another  band  of  these 
vagabond  thimble-men,  on  the  Dalkeith  road,  near  Craig- 
miller  Castle.  I  asked  the  fellow  with  the  thimbles,  “  Is 
that  gaugie  a  nawken  f”  pointing  to  one  of  the  gang  who 
had  just  left  him.  The  question,  in  plain  English,  was,  “  Is 
that  man  a  Gipsy?”  The  thimbler  flew  at  once  into  a  great 
passion,  and  bawled  out,  “  Ask  himself,  sir.”  He  then  fell 
upon  me,  and  a  gentleman  who  was  with  me,  in  most  abusive 
language,  applying  to  us  the  most  insulting  epithets  he  could 
think  of.  It  was  evident  to  my  friend  that  the  thimble-man 
perfectly  understood  my  Gipsy  question.  So  enraged  wms 
lie,  that  we  were  afraid  lie  would  follow  us,  and  do  us  some 
harm.  My  friend  did  not  consider  himself  safe  till  he  was 
in  the  middle  of  Edinburgh,  for  many  a  look  did  he  cast  be¬ 
hind  him,  to  see  whether  the  Gipsy  was  not  in  pursuit  of  us.* 

*  There  is  a  Gipsy  belonging  to  one  of  these  bands,  known  by  the  sou¬ 
briquet  of  the  “  winged  duck,”  from  having  lost  an  arm,  of  whom  I  have 


324 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  Gipsies  in  Scotland  consider  themselves  to  be  of  the 
same  stock  as  those  in  England  and  Ireland,  for  they  are  all 
acquainted  with  the  same  speech.  They  afford  assistance  to 
one  another,  whenever  they  happen  to  meet.  The  following 

often  heard  our  author  speak.  He  is  what  may  be  called  the  captain  of 
the  company.  A  description  of  him,  and  his  way  of  life,  may  be  inter¬ 
esting,  inasmuch  as  it  illustrates  a  class  of  Scottish  Gipsies  at  the  present 
day. 

About  the  year  1853,  three  young  gentlemen,  from  the  town  of  Leith,  had 
occasion  to  take  a  stroll  over  Arthur’s  Seat,  a  hill  that  overhangs  Edin¬ 
burgh,  on  the  east  side  of  the  city.  In  climbing  the  hill,  they  observed,  a 
little  way  before  them,  a  man  toiling  up  the  ascent,  whom  they  did  not 
notice  till  they  came  close  upon  him,  and  who  had  evidently  been  laying  off 
on  the  side  of  the  path,  and  entered  it  as  they  approached  it.  He  appears 
about  sixty  years  of  age,  is  well  dressed,  and  carries  a  fine  cane,  which  he 
keeps  pressing  into  the  ground,  to  help  him  up  the  hill.  Just  as  they  make 
up  to  him,  he  abruptly  stops,  and  turns  round,  so  as  almost  to  touch  them. 
“  Hech,  how  !  I’m  blown,  I’m  blown  ;  I’m  fairly  done  up.  Young  gentle¬ 
men,  you  have  the  advantage  of  me ;  I’m  getting  old.  and  it  is  hard  for  me 
to  climb  the  hill.”  (Blown,  done  up,  indeed  !  The  fellow  has  stamina 
enough  to  outclimb  any  of  them  for  years  yet.)  An  agreeable  conversation 
ensues,  such  as  at  once  gains  for  him  the  confidence  of  the  youths.  He 
appears  to  them  so  mild,  so  bland,  so  fatherly,  so  worthy  of  respect,  in  short, 
a  “  nice  old  cove,”  who  is  evidently  enjoying  his  otium  cum  dignitate  in  his 
old  age,  in  some  cottage  near  by,  upon  a  pension,  an  annuity,  or  a  moderate 
competency  of  some  sort.  During  the  conversation,  he  manages  to  ascer¬ 
tain  that  his  young  friends  have  not  been  on  the  hill  for  some  time — that 
one  of  them,  indeed,  has  never  been  there  before.  All  at  once  he  exclaims, 
“  Ah  !  what  can  this  be  ?  Let  us  go  and  see.”  Upon  which  they  step  for¬ 
ward  to  look  at  a  person  like  a  mechanic  playing  at  the  thimbles.  Placing 
his  arm  around  the  neck  of  one  of  the  young  men,  he  begins  to  moralize: 
“Pray,  young  gentlemen,  don’t  bet,  (they  had  not  shown  the  least  symptoms 
of  doing  that  ;)  it’s  wrong  to  bet;  it’s  a  thing  I  never  do;  I  would  advise 
you  not  to  do  it.  This  is  a  rascally  thimbler ;  he’ll  cheat,  he’ll  rob  you.” 
At  this  time  there  are  three  playing  at  the  board,  winning  and  losing 
money  rapidly.  The  “  old  cove”  becomes  impatient  to  be  gone,  and  mo¬ 
tions  so  as  to  imply,  “  Boys,  let  us  go,  let  us  go.”  Moving  a  few  steps 
forward,  he  halts  to  admire  the  scenery,  (but  easts  a  leering  eye  in  the 
direction  of  the  board.)  “  Ah  !  there’s  another  goose  gone  to  be  plucked  ; 
let  us  see  what  luck  he  meets  with.” 

Now  thimble  rigging  is  the  game,  of  all  others,  by  which  the  uninitiated 
can  be  duped.  They  see  the  pea  put  under  one  of  the  thimbles,  (nutshells 
they  are,  indeed  ;)  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  of  that.  The  thimbles  are 
then  so  gently  moved,  that  any  one  can  follow  them.  The  pea  is  not  after¬ 
wards  tampered  with — that  is  evident.  All,  then,  that  remains  to  be  done, 
is  to  lift  the  thimble  under  which  the  pea  is,  and  secure  your  prize.  But 
the  thimble  man,  with  his  long  nail,  and  nimble  finger,  has  secured  the  pea 
under  his  nail,  or,  with  the  crook  of  his  little  finger,  thrust  it  into  the  palm 
of  his  hand,  while  he  pretended  to  cover  it  with  the  thimble.  An  accom¬ 
plice,  to  make  doubly  sure  of  the  pea  being  under  the  thimble,  lifts  it,  and 
shows  a  pea,  which  he,  by  sleight  of  hand,  drops,  and,  while  pretending  to 
cover  it,  as  nimbly  takes  it  up  again. 


LANGUAGE. 


325 


facts  will  at  least  show  that  the  Scottish  and  Irish  Gipsies 
are  one  and  the  same  people. 

In  the  county  of  File,  I  once  fell  in  with  an  Irish 
family,  to  appearance  in  great  poverty  and  distress,  rest¬ 
ing  themselves  on  the  side  of  the  public  road.  A  shelty 

Betting  and  playing  go  on  as  before.  The  player  makes  some  fine  hauls, 
but  loses  a  game.  He  swears  that  foul  play  has  been  used.  An  altercation 
follows.  The  man  at  the  board  gets  excited,  and  to  show  that  he  really  is 
honourable  in  his  playing,  exclaims,  “  Well,  sir,  there’s  your  money  again  ; 
try  another  game  if  you  have  a  mind.”  “  Now  that  is  really  honest,  and 
no  mistake  about  it,”  remarks  the  “  old  cove.”  Then  the  thimbler  averts 
his  head,  to  speak  to  a  person  behind  him,  and  the  “  old  cove”  slyly  lifts  a 
thimble  and  shows  the  pea,  and  whispers  very  confidentially  to  his  friends, 
“  Now,  young  gentlemen,  you  can  safely  bet  a  few  shillings  on  that.”  They 
shake  their  heads,  however,  for  they  know  too  much  about  thimbling.  The 
“  old  cove”  now  gets  fidgetty,  and,  managing  to  edge  a  little  away  from  the 
board,  commences,  in  a  subdued  tone,  to  speak,  in  a  strange  gibberish,  to 
another  bystander ;  but,  forgetting  himself,  drops  a  word  rather  louder 
than  the  others,  on  which,  as  he  turns  round  and  catches  the  eyes  of  his 
young  friends,  he  coughs  and  hems.  On  hearing  the  gibberish,  a  fear  steals 
over  the  young  men,  on  finding  themselves  surrounded  by  a  band  of  des¬ 
peradoes,  in  so  solitary  a  place,  and  they  make  haste  to  be  off.  But  the 
“  old  cove,”  to  quiet  their  suspicions,  accompanies  them  to  a  convenient 
spot,  where  he  leaves  them,  to  go  to  his  home,  by  a  side-path  that  soon 
leads  him  out  of  sight.  On  separating,  he  looks  around  him  at  the  scenery, 
now  lets  fall  his  stick,  now  picks  up  something,  that  he  may,  with  less  sus¬ 
picion,  watch  the  movements  of  his  escaped  victims.  They  feel  a  singular 
relief  in  getting  rid  of  his  company,  and,  with  tact,  dog  him  over  the  hill, 
till  they  see  him  go  back  to  the  thimblers.  They  then  think  over  their 
adventure,  and  the  strange  jargon  they  have  heard,  and  unanimously  ex¬ 
claim,  “  Wasn’t  he  a  slippery  old  serpent,  after  all !” 

On  this  occasion,  there  were  no  less  than  fourteen  of  these  fellows  present, 
some  of  them  stationed  here,  some  there,  while  they  kept  artfully  moving 
around  and  about  the  hill,  so  as  not  to  appear  connected,  but  frequently 
approached  the  board,  to  contribute  to  and  watch  their  luck.  They  per¬ 
sonated  various  characters.  One  of  them  played  the  country  lout,  whose 
dress,  gait,  gape,  and  stare  were  inimitable.  On  the  slightest  symptom  of 
danger  manifesting  itself,  they  would,  by  the  movement  of  a  hat,  scatter, 
and  vanish  in  an  instant. 

Among  the  people  generally,  a  mystery  attaches  to  these  and  other 
thimble-men.  No  one  seems  to  know  anything  about  them — who  they  are 
or  where  they  come  from — and  yet  the)-  are  seen  flitting  everywhere  through 
the  country  ;  but  hardly  ever  two  days  together  in  one  dress.  But  the 
mystery  is  solved  by  their  being  Gipsies.  They  are  dangerous  fellows  to 
meddle  with ;  yet  they  seem  to  prefer  thimbling,  chain-dropping,  card¬ 
playing,  pocket-picking,  in  fairs  and  thoroughfares,  and  pigeon-plucking 
in  every  form,  to  robbery  on  the  high-way,  after  the  manner  of  their  ances¬ 
tors. 

Thimble-rigging,  according  to  Sir  J.  Gardner  Wilkinson,  was  practised 
in  ancient  Egypt.  lie  calls  it  “  thimble  rig,  or  the  game  of  cups,  under 
which  a  ball  was  put,  while  the  opposite  party  guessed  under  which  of  four 
it  was  concealed.” — Ed. 


326 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


and  an  ass  were  grazing  hard  by.  The  ass  they  used  in 
carrying  a  woman,  who,  they  said,  was  a  hundred  and  one 
years  of  age.  She  was  shrunk  and  withered  to  a  skeleton, 
or  rather,  I  should  say,  to  a  bundle  of  bones  ;  and  her  chin 
almost  rested  on  her  knees,  and  her  body  was  nearly  doubled 
by  age.  On  interrogating  the  head  of  the  family,  I  found 
that  his  name  was  Hugh  White,  and  that  he  was  an  Irish¬ 
man,  and  a  son  of  the  old  woman  who  was  with  him.  I  put 
some  Gipsy  words  to  him,  to  ascertain  whether  or  not  he 
was  one  of  the  tribe.  He  pretended  not  to  understand  what 
I  said  ;  but  his  daughter,  of  about  six  years  of  age,  replied, 
“  But  I  understand  what  he  says.”  I  then  called  out 
sharply  to  him,  “Jaiu  vree” — (“Go  away,”  or  “get  out  of 
the  way.”)  “  As  soon  as  I  can,”  was  his  answer.  On 
leaving  him,  I  again  called,  “  Beenship-davies” — (“  Good- 
day.”)  “  Good-day,  sir  ;  God  bless  you,”  was  his  immedi¬ 
ate  reply. 

I  happened,  at  another  time,  to  be  in  the  court-house  of 
one  of  the  burghs  north  of  the  Forth,  when  two  Irishmen, 
of  the  names  of  O’Reilly  and  McEwan,  were  at  the  bar  for 
having  been  found  drunk,  and  fighting  within  the  town. 
They  were  sentenced  by  the  magistrates  to  three  days’  im¬ 
prisonment,  and  to  be  “  banished  the  town,”  for  their  riotous 
conduct.  The  men  had  the  Irish  accent,  and  had  certainly 
been  born  and  brought  up  in  Ireland ;  but  their  habiliments 
and  general  appearance  did  not  correspond  exactly  with  the 
ordinary  dress  and  manners  of  common  Irish  peasants,  al¬ 
though  their  features  were  in  all  respects  Hibernian.  When 
the  magistrates  questioned  them  in  respect  to  their  conduct, 
the  prisoners  looked  very  grave,  and  said,  “  Sure,  and  it 
plase  your  honours,  our  quarrel  was  nothing  but  whiskey, 
and  sure  we  are  the  best  friends  in  the  world  and  seemed 
very  penitent.  But  when  the  magistrates  were  not  looking 
at  them,  they  were  smiling  to  each  other,  and  keeping  up  a 
communication  in  pantomime.  Suspecting  them  to  be  Irish 
Gipsies,  I  addressed  the  wife  of  McEwan  as  follows  :  “For 
what  is  the  riah  (magistrate)  going  to  put  your  gaugie 
(man)  in  slaurdie,  (prison)?”  “Only  for  a  little  whiskey, 
sir,”  was  her  immediate  reply.  She  gave  me,  on  the  spot, 
the  English  of  the  following  words  ;  adding,  at  the  same 
time,  that  I  had  got  the  Gipsy  language,  but  that  her’s  was 
only  the  English  cant.  She  was  afraid  to  acknowledge  that 


LANGUAGE. 


327 


she  was  a  Gipsy,  as  such  a  confession  might,  in  her  opinion, 
have  proved  prejudicial  to  her  husband,  in  the  situation  in 
which  lie  was  placed. 


Yaka,  eyes. 
Grye,  horse. 
Roys,  spoons. 
Skews ,  platters. 
Mashlam,  metal. 


G  angle,  man. 


Managie ,  woman. 
Chau  vies,  children 
Riah,  magistrate. 
Chor,  thief. 


I  observed  the  woman  instantly  communicate  to  her  hus¬ 
band  the  conversation  she  had  with  me.  She  immediately 
returned  to  me,  and,  after  questioning  me  as  to  my  name, 
occupation,  and  place  of  residence,  very  earnestly  entreated 
me  to  save  her  gaugie  from  the  staurdie.  I  asked  her,  how 
many  ehauvies  she  had?  “Twelve,  sir.”  Were  any  of 
them  chors?  “None,  sir.”  Two  of  her  ehauvies  were  in 
her  hand,  weeping  bitterly.  The  woman  was  in  great  dis¬ 
tress,  and  when  she  heard  the  sound  of  her  own  language, 
she  thought  she  saw  a  friend.  I  informed  one  of  the  magis¬ 
trates,  whom  I  knew,  that  the  prisoners  were  Gipsies  ;  and 
proposed  to  him  to  mitigate  the  punishment  of  the  woman’s 
husband,  on  condition  of  his  giving  me  a  specimen  of  his 
secret  speech.  But  the  reply  of  the  man  of  authority  was, 
“  The  scoundrel  shall  lie  in  prison  till  the  last  hour  of  his 
sentence.”  *  The  “  scoundrel,”  however,  did  not  remain  in  dur- 
ance  so  long.  While  the  jailer  was  securing  him  in  prison, 
the  determined  Tinklei’,  with  the  utmost  coolness  and  indif¬ 
ference,  asked  him,  which  part  of  the  jail  would  be  the  easiest 
for  him  to  bi-eak  through.  The  jailer  told  him  that,  if  he 
attempted  to  .escape,  the  watchman,  stationed  in  the  church¬ 
yard,  close  to  the  prison,  would  shoot  him.  On  visiting  the 
prison  next  morning,  the  turnkey  found  that  the  Gipsy  had 
undone  the  locks  of  the  dooi’s,  and  fled  during  the  night. 
O’Reilly,  the  other  Gipsy,  remained,  in  a  separate  cell,  the 
whole  period  of  his  sentence.  When  the  officers  were  com¬ 
pleting  the  other  part  of  his  punishment — “  banishing  him 
from  the  town”— the  regardless,  light-hearted  Irish  Tinkler 
went  capering  along  the  streets,  with  his  coat  off,  brandish- 
ing,  and  sweeping,  and  twirling  his  shillalah,  in  the  Gipsy 
fashion.  Meeting,  in  this  excited  state,  his  late  judge,  the 
Tinkler,  with  the  utmost  contempt  and  derision,  called  out 


328 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


to  him,  “  Plase  your  honour !  won’t  you  now  take  a  fight 
with  me,  for  the  sake  of  friendship  ?”  This  worthy  Irish 
Gipsy  represented  himself  as  the  head  Tinkler  in  Perth,  and 
the  first  of  the  second  class  of  boxers. 

On  another  occasion,  I  observed  a  horde  of  Gipsies  on 
the  high  street  of  Inverkeithing,  employed  in  making  spoons 
from  horn.  I  spoke  to  one  of  the  young  married  men,  partly 
in  Scottish  Gipsy  words,  when  he  immediately  answered  me 
in  English.  He  said  they  were  all  natives  of  Ireland.  They 
had,  male  and  female,  the  Irish  accent  completely.  I  invited 
this  man  to  accompany  me  to  a  public-house,  that  I  might 
obtain  from  him  a  specimen  of  his  Irish  Gipsy  language. 
The  town-clerk  being  in  my  company  at  the  time,  I  asked 
him  to  go  with  me,  to  hear  what  passed  ;  but  he  refused, 
evidently  because  he  considered  that  the  company  of  a 
Gipsy  would  contaminate  and  degrade  him.  I  treated  the 
Tinkler  with  a  glass  of  spirits,  and  obtained  from  him  the 
following  words : 


Yaik,  one. 

Hide ,  two. 

Trin,  three. 

Punch ,  five. 

Saus ,  six. 

Luflen,  eight. 

Sonnakie,  gold. 

Roug ,  silver. 

Vanister ,  ring. 

Rat ,  night. 

Cham ,  the  moon. 

Borlan ,  the  sun. 

Yak,  fire. 

Chowrie ,  knife. 

Bar ,  stone. 

Shnha ,  coat. 

Roiy,  spoon. 

Chauvie ,  child. 

Gaugie ,  man. 

Mart  and  kinshen ,  wife  and 
child. 

Klistie ,  soldier. 

Ruffie  lee  ma ,  devil  miss  me. 


Nasher ,  deserter. 

Haw-douglars ,  hand-cuffs. 
Staurdie ,  prison. 

Lodie ,  lodgings. 

Vile ,  town. 

Yak ,  eye. 

Heekers ,  eyes. 

Shir,  head. 

Test,  head. 

Nak,  nose. 

Mooie ,  mouth. 

Meffemel ,  hand. 

Grye,  horse, 

Aizel ,  ass. 

Hugal,  dog. 

Bakra,  sheep. 

Ruffie,  devil. 

Bing ,  devil. 

Feck,  take. 

Ruffie  feck  ma,  devil  take  me. 
Nawken ,  Tinkler, 

Baurie-dews,  Nawken,  good-day, 
Tinkler. 


LANGUAGE. 


329 


This  man  conducted  himself  very  politely,  his  behaviour  be¬ 
ing  very  correct  and  becoming  ;  and  he  seemed  much  pleased 
at  being  noticed,  and  kindly  treated.  At  first,  he  spoke 
wholly  in  the  Gipsy  language,  thinking  that  I  was  as  well 
acquainted  with  it  as  himself.  But  when  he  found  that  I 
knew  only  a  few  words  of  it,  he,  like  all  lps  tribe,  stopped 
in  his  communications,  and,  in  this  instance,  began  to  quiz 
and  laugh  at  my  ignorance.  On  returning  to  the  street,  I 
repeated  some  of  the  words  to  one  of  the  females.  She 
laughed,  and,  with  much  good  humour,  said,  “  You  will  put 
me  out,  by  speaking  to  me  in  that  language.” 

These  facts  prove  that  the  Irish  Gipsies  have  the  same 
language  as  those  in  Scotland.  The  English  Gipsy  is  sub¬ 
stantially  the  same.  There  are  a  great  many  Irish  Gipsies 
travelling  in  Scotland,  of  whom  1  will  again  speak,  in  the 
following  chapter.  They  are  not  easily  distinguished 
from  common  Irish  peasants,  except  that  they  are  gen¬ 
erally  employed  in  some  sort  of  traffic,  such  as  hawking 
earthen-ware,  trinkets,  and  various  other  trifles,  through  the 
country. 

It  may  interest  the  reader  to  know  how  the  idea  origi¬ 
nated  that  the  Gipsies,  at  all  events  their  speech,  came,  or 
was  thought  to  have  come,  from  Hindostan.  According  to 
Grellmann,  it  was  in  this  way  : 

“  The  following  is  an  article  to  be  found  in  the  Vienna 
Gazette,  from  a  Captain  Szekely,  who  was  thinking  of 
searching  for  (the  origin  of)  the  Gipsies,  and  their  language, 
in  the  East  Indies  :  In  the  year  1763,  on  the  6th  of  Novem¬ 
ber,  a  printer,  whose  name  was  Stephen  Pap  Szathmar  Ne- 
methi,  came  to  see  me.  Talking  upon  various  subjects,  we 
at  last  fell  upon  that  of  the  Gipsies  ;  and  my  guest  related 
to  me  the  following  anecdote,  from  the  mouth  of  a  preacher 
of  the  Reformed  Church,  Stephen  Vali,  at  Almasch.  When 
the  said  Vali  studied  at  the  University  of  Leyden,  he  was 
intimately  acquainted  with  some  young  Malabars,  of  whom 
three  are  obliged  constantly  to  study  there  ;  nor  can  they  re¬ 
turn  home  till  relieved  by  three  others.  Having  observed  that 
their  native  language  bore  a  great  affinity  to  that  spoken 
by  the  Gipsies,  he  availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  to  note 
down  from  themselves  upwards  of  one  thousand  words,  to¬ 
gether  with  their  significations.  After  Vali  was  returned 
from  the  University,  he  informed  himself  of  the  Raber  Gip- 


A  niS TORY  OF  THE  OirSIES. 


3'30 

sies,  concerning’  the  meaning  of  his  Malabar  words,  which 
they  explained  without  trouble  or  hesitation.”*' 

None  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  words  have  as  yet,  I  believe, 
been  collated  with  the  Hindostnnee,  the  supposed  mother 
tongue  of  the  Gipsies.t  I  showed  my  list  to  a  gentleman 
lately  from  India,  who,  at  first  sight,  pointed  out,  from 
among  several  hundred  words  and  sentences  scattered 
through  these  pages,  about  thirty-nine  which  very  closely  re¬ 
sembled  Hindostanee.  But  in  ascertaining  the  origin  of  the 
Gipsies,  the  traveller,  Dr.  Bright,  thinks  it  would  be  desir¬ 
able  to  procure  some  of  the  speech  of  the  lowest  classes  in 
India,  and  compare  it  with  the  Gipsy,  as  spoken  in  Europe  ; 
for  the  purpose  of  showing,  more  correctly,  the  affinity  of 
the  two  languages.  He  supposes,  as  I  understand  him,  that 
the  terms  used  by  the  despised  and  unlettered  Gipsies 
would  probably  resemble  more  closely  the  vulgar  idiom  of 
the  lowest  castes  in  India,  than  the  Hindostanee  spoken  by 
the  higher  ranks,  or  that  which  is  to  be  found  in  books. 
The  following  facts  show  that  Dr.  Bright’s  conjectures  are 
not  far  from  the  truth. 

I  had  occasion  at  one  time  to  be  on  board  of  a  vessel 
lying  in  the  harbour  of  Limekilns,  Fifeshire,  where  I  ob¬ 
served  a  black  man,  acting  as  cook,  of  the  name  of  John 
Lobbs,  about  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  a  native  of  Bom¬ 
bay,  who  could  neither  read  nor  write  any  language  what¬ 
ever.  He  stated  that  he  was  now  a  Christian,  and  had 
been  baptized  by  the  name  of  John.  He  had  been  absent 
from  India  three  years,  as  cabin  boy,  in  several  British  ves¬ 
sels,  and  spoke  English  well.  He  appeared  to  be  of  a  low 
caste  in  his  native  land,  but  sharpened  by  his  contact  with 
Europeans.  Recollecting  Dr.  Bright’s  hint,  it  occurred  to 

*  “  The  opinion,  that  the  Gipsies  came  originally  from  India,  seems  to 
have  been  very  early  entertained,  although  it  was  again  soon  forgotten,  or 
silently  relinquished.  Hieronymus  Foroliviensis,  in  the  nineteenth  volume 
of  Muratori,  says,  that  on  the  7th  day  of  August,  A.  D.  1422,  200  of  the 
Cingari  came  to  his  native  town,  and  remained  there  two  days,  on  their 
way  to  Rome,  and  that  some  of  them  said  that  they  came  from  India,  ‘  et 
ut  audivi  aliqui  dicebant  quod  erant  de  India  and  the  account  which  Mun¬ 
ster  gives  of  what  he  gathered  from  one  of  the  Cingari,  in  1624,  seems  to 
prove  that  an  impression  existed  amongst  them  of  their  having  come  from 
that  country.” — Bright. — Ed. 

f  Mr.  Baird’s  Missionary  Report  contained  a  collation  of  the  Scottish 
Gipsy  with  Hindostanee,  but  that  appeared  considerably  after  what  our 
author  has  said  was  written. — Ed. 


LANGUAGE. 


331 


me  that  this  Hindoo’s  vulgar  dialect  might  resemble  the 
language  of  our  Scottish  Gipsies.  I  repeated  to  him  about 
one  hundred  and  eighty  Gipsy  words  and  expressions.  The 
greater  part  were  familiar  to  his  ear,  but  many  of  them 
that  meant  one  thing  in  Gipsy,  had  quite  a  different  signi¬ 
fication  in  his  speech.  I  shall,  however,  give  the  following 
Gipsy  words,  with  the  corresponding  words  of  Lobb’s  lan¬ 
guage,  and  the  English  opposite.* 


SCOTTISH  GIPST.  JOHN  LOBBS’  IHNDOSTANEE.  ENGLISH. 


Laurie,  great,  grand, 
rich. 

Been ,  great,  grand, 
rich. 

Cullo, 

Lon , 

Gourie,  a  man. 

Gaugie ,  a  man. 

Mart,  a  wife. 

Chavo , 

Praw , 

Prawl , 

JYuis-gaugie,  grand¬ 
father. 

Nais-mort,  grand¬ 
mother. 

Jliah, 

Rajah,  a  chief,  gov¬ 
ernor. 

Raunie,  lady,  wife 
of  a  gentleman. 

Been  riah, 

Been  raunie, 

Been  gourie, 

Bauree  rajah, 


Bura , 

Beenie , 

Kala, 

Loon, 

Gowra , 

Gaugie,  or  Fraugie , 
Murgia, 

Chokna , 

Pra  w, 

Pra  wl, 

Nais  gaugie, 

Nais  mort, 

Riah, 

Rajah, 

Raunie, 

Beenie  riah, 

Beenie  raunie , 
Beenie  gourie, 

Bura  rajah, 


Grand,  good,  great, 
rich. 

Grand,  good,  great, 
rich. 

Black. 

Salt. 

White  man. 

Rich  man. 

Dead  wife. 

A  boy,  a  son 
Son. 

Daughter. 

Old  man. 

Old  woman. 

A  chief,  a  gentleman. 
A  chief,  a  lord. 

The  wife  of  a  prince. 

The  king. 

The  queen. 

A  gentleman. 

The  king. 


*  Meeting  a  Bengalee  at  Peebles,  begging  money  to  pa}'  his  passage  back 
to  India,  I  repeated  to  him,  from  memory,  a  few  of  the  Gipsy  words  1  had 
collected  a  week  before.  After  listening  attentively,  he  answered  that  it 
was  the  Moor’s  language  I  had  got,  and  gave,  me  the  English  of  paunie, 
water,  and  dairies,  day.  I  took  the  first  opportunity  of  mentioning  this  in¬ 
terview  to  the  Gipsies,  observing  it  was  the  general  opinion  that  their  fore¬ 
fathers  came  from  India.  They,  however,  persisted  in  their  own  tradition, 
that  they  were  a  tribe  of  Ethiopians,  which  is  believed  by  all  the  Scottish 
Gipsies.  [See  pages  113  and  315. — Ed  ] 


332 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


SCOTTISH  GIPST. 

Baurie  rau-nie , 
Baurie  forest , 

Baurie  paunie , 

Lon  paunie , 

Grye,  _ 

Prancie ,  a  horse. 

Gournie, 

Backra, 

Sherro, 

Yak, 

Yaka, 

JVak , 

Mooie, 

Chee, 

Chee  chee , 

Femmel,  hand. 

Fas<, 

Peerie, 

Gave , 

Hair, 

Wautheriz , 

Outhrie,  a  window. 
Eegees,  bed  clothes. 
Shuch-liamie, 
Jair-dah, 

Gawd , 

Teeyakas, 

Scaf,  a  hat. 

Skews, 

Chowrie, 

Harro , 

Sauster ,  iron. 
jV/ass, 

Thood, 

Chizcazin ,  cheese. 
Blaw,  meal. 

Flatrin , 

Shauclia,  broth. 
Molzie, 


JOHN  LOBB3’  HINDOSTANEE. 

Bur  a,  rau-nie , 

Bura  frost,  bura 
malook, 

Bura  paunie , 

Loon  paunie, 
Ghora, 

Prawncie, 

Goroo, 

Buckra, 

Sir, 

Aukh, 

A  uklia , 

JVak, 

Mooih, 

Jeebh, 

Choopra, 

Fin  gal, 

Wast, 

Peir, 

Gaw, 

Gur, 

Waudrie , 

Outrie,  Durvaja, 
Eegees , 

Shuamie, 

Jairda , 

Dowglaw, 

Teeyaka, 

Scaf,  a  small  piece 
the  head,  like 
Skows, 

Choree, 

Dhoro, 

Sauspoon, 

Mass , 

Doodh , 

Chizcaizim, 

Blaw, 

Flatrin , 

Shooriva, 

Mool , 


ENGLISH. 

The  queen. 

Great  town. 

The  sea,  the  great 
water. 

Salt  water,  the  ocean. 
Horse. 

A  gentleman’s  car¬ 
riage. 

A  cow. 

A  sheep. 

Head. 

Eye. 

Eyes. 

Nose. 

Mouth. 

The  tongue. 

Hold  your  tongue. 
Ends  of  the  fingers. 
The  hand. 

The  foot. 

Village. 

A  house. 

A  bed. 

A  door. 

Bed  curtains. 

A  waistcoat. 
Woman’s  apron. 

A  man’s  shirt. 

Shoes. 

of  cloth  tied  around 
a  fillet. 

Platters,  jugs. 

Knife. 

Sword. 

Iron  pot-lid,  iron. 
Flesh. 

Milk. 

Cheese-knife. 

Indian  corn. 

Fish  of  any  kind. 
Soup. 

Wine. 


LANGUAGE. 


333 


SCOTTISH  GIPST. 

JOHN  LOBBS  HINDOSTANEE, 

ENGLISH. 

Romanic ,  whiskey. 

Rominie, 

Spirits,  liquor. 

Mumlie ,  a  candle. 

Memhootie, 

Candles. 

Flu  fan, 

F loo  fan, 

Smoking  tobacco. 

Yak, 

Jig, 

Fire. 

Paunie , 

Paunie , 

Water. 

Cashes, 

Cashtes, 

Dunbar, 

Fruit  trees. 

Bar , 

A  stone. 

Sonnakie, 

Sona, 

Gold. 

Roug, 

Ronpa, 

Silver. 

Chinda,  silver. 

Chindee, 

Silver,  tin. 

Geeve, 

Guing , 

Wheat. 

Mang , 

Chan,  Jung, 

The  moon. 

Binnie, 

Boomie, 

To  drink. 

Mar , 

Mama , 

To  strike. 

Rauge, 

Rawd , 

Mad. 

Choar , 

Chorna, 

To  steal. 

Chor, 

Chor, 

Thief. 

Hurriff , 

Huff, 

Give  me. 

Moolie ,  death,  to  die,  Moola, 
dead. 

Dead. 

Quad , 

Quid, 

Prison. 

Staurdie,  prison. 

Staurdee, 

A  prison,  to  confine, 
hold. 

Jaw  vree, 

Jowa, 

Go  away. 

Auvie, 

Davies, 

Aow, 

Coming,  come  here. 

Din, 

Day. 

Rat, 

Raul, 

Night. 

Pagrin , 

Paivgrin, 

To  break. 

Davies-pagrin, 

Da  wis-pawgrin , 

Day-break,  the  mor¬ 
ning. 

Klistie ,  a  soldier. 
Nash,  deserter. 

Kleeslie , 

Black  soldier,  Sepoy. 

Natch, 

To  run  away. 

Loudnie, 

Loonie, 

A  bad  woman.* 

My  informant  understood,  he  said,  two  of  the  dialects  of 
Hindostan,  the  one  called  the  Hindoo,  and  the  other  the 
Moors’  language.  The  former,  he  said,  the  English  in 

*  A  lady  who  resided  seventeen  years  in  India,  already  alluded  to,  men¬ 
tioned  to  me  that  the  pronunciation  of  the  Hindoos  is  broad,  like  that  of 
the  Scotch,  particularly  where  the  letter  a  occurs;  and  that  the  Scotch 
learn  Hindostanee  sooner,  and  more  correctly,  than  the  natives  of  other 
countries.  For  this  reason,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  Scottish  Gipsy 
will  have  a  greater  resemblance  to  Hindostanee  than  the  Gipsy  of  some 
other  countries. 


834 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


India  generally  spoke,  but  understood  little  of  the  latter ; 
and  that  he  himself  did  not  know  a  word  of  the  language 
of  the  Brahmins.  When  he  failed  to  produce,  in  the  Moors’ 
language,  the  word  corresponding  to  the  Gipsy  one,  he  fre¬ 
quently  found  it  in  what  he  called  the  Hindoo  speech.  The 
greater  part  of  the  Gipsy  words,  as  I  have  already  men¬ 
tioned,  were  familiar  to  his  ear  ;  but  many  of  them  that 
signified  one  thing  in  his  speech,  meant  quite  another  in 
Gipsy.  For  example,  the  word  Graunagie ,  in  Gipsy,  signifies 
a  bam;  with  Lobbs,  it  meant  an  old  rich  man.  Coories , 
bed  clothes  or  blankets,  signified,  in  Lobb’s  dialect,  ornaments 
for  the  cars.  Dill ,  a  servant  maid,  according  to  Lobbs, 
was  a  church.  Shan  davies,  a  bad  day,  was  the  Hindos- 
tanee  for  holiday.  Managie,  a  woman,  signifies  the  name 
of  a  person,  such  as  John  or  James.  Chavo,  a  son,  meant 
a  female  child ;  and  Pooklie,  hulled  barley,  anything 
■fine.  The  two  Gipsy  words  Gallo  and  Rat  are  black  and 
night  ;  but,  according  to  Lobbs,  Callorat  is  simply  anything 
dark.* 

To  confirm  my  collection  of  Scottish  Gipsy  words,  I  will 
collate  some  of  those  which  I  sent  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  for 
examination  but  not  for  publication,  with  those  to  be  found 
in  Mr.  Baird’s  report,  a  publication  which  I  first  saw  in 
1842. 


SCOTTISH  GIPSY.  YETIIOLM  GIPSY. 


ENGLISH. 


Gaugie ,  Gadge, 

Managie,  Manishee, 

Mart, 

Chavo,  (cliauvies,  chil-  Shavies,  children, 
dren,) 


Man. 

Woman. 

Wife. 

Son. 


*  In  the  report  of  the  Fourteenth  Gipsies’  Festival,  held  at  Southampton, 
under  the  superintendence  of  the  Rev.  James  Crabb,  the  Gipsies’  friend,  on 
the  25th  December,  1841,  is  the  following  statement: 

“  The  above  gentleman,  (the  Rev.  J.  West,  one  of  the  speakers  at  the 
festival,)  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Crabb,  and  two  elderly  Gipsies,  who  speak  the 
Gipsy  language,  called,  the  following  morning,  on  a  lady  who  had  long 
resided  in  India,  and  speaks  the  Hindostanee  language ;  and  it  was  clear 
that  many  of  the  Rommany  (Gipsy)  words  were  pure  Hindostanee,  and 
other  words  strongly  resembled  that  language.” — Hampshire  Advertiser, 
ls<  January,  1842. 

This  statement,  made  some  years  subsequent  to  the  period  at  which  I 
took  down  the  words  from  Lobbs  and  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  is  nearly  in 
my  own  words,  and  proves  that  my  opinion,  as  to  the  close  affinity  between 
Hindostanee  and  the  Scottish  Gipsy  language,  is  correct. 


LANGUAGE. 


335 


SCOTTISH  GirSY. 

YETHOLM  GirST. 

ENGLISH. 

Praw, 

Praia  l , 

Goure,  a  boy, 

Son. 

Raekle,  a  girl, 

Daughter. 

Riah, 

Rajah , 

Rai ,  a  gentleman, 

A  chief. 
Governor. 

Laurie, 

Bare, 

Good. 

Sherro , 

Shero, 

Head. 

Yah, 

Yaka, 

Yack, 

Eye. 

Eyes. 

Nak , 

Nak, 

Nose. 

Mooie, 

Moi, 

Mouth. 

Vast, 

Grye, 

Vastie , 

Hand. 

Gral, 

Horse. 

Bashanie, 

Basne , 

Cock. 

Caunie, 

Kanne, 

Hen. 

Drom, 

Drone , 

Road. 

Gave , 

Graunagie , 

Gaave, 

Village. 

Barn. 

Graunzie, 

Granse , 

Barn. 

Kuir , 

Outhrie, 

Keir, 

House. 

Window. 

Yog, 

Yag, 

Fire. 

Thood, 

Thud, 

Milk. 

Mass, 

Mass, 

Flesh. 

Peerie ,  (or  blawkie ,) 

Blakie, 

Pot. 

Paunie, 

Paurie, 

Pawne, 

Water. 

Water. 

Molzie , 

Mul, 

Roy, 

Wine. 

Roy, 

Nab, 

Chorie, 

Choivrie, 

Spoon. 

Horn. 

Knife. 

Choure, 

Knife. 

Shuha, 

Shohe , 

Coat. 

Scaf,  (or  gogle,) 
Harro , 

Beerie, 

Gogel, 

Hat. 

Sword. 

Ship. 

Ramie, 

Choar , 

Peevan ,  drinking, 

To  drink. 

To  steal. 

Chor, 

Staurdie , 

Tschor, 

Thief. 

Slarde ,  a  jail, 

Prison. 

Moolie, 

Moulian,  dying, 

Death. 

Moolie, 

Moule,  to  kill, 

I’ll  kill  you. 

Bing, 

Bing, 

The  deviL 

83G 


A  niS TORT  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


The  following  Scottish  Gipsy  words  appear  to  have  some 
relation  to  the  Sanscrit : 


SCOTTISH  GIPSY. 

SANSCRIT. 

ENGLISH. 

Yag, 

Aguish, 

Fire. 

Paurie , 

Varni , 

W  ater. 

Castles , 

Cashth , 

Wood. 

Duff, 

Dhvpali , 

Smoke. 

Sneepa, 

Sweta, 

White. 

Callo , 

Cala , 

Black. 

Sherro , 

Sira, 

The  head. 

Rajah, 

Rajah, 

Lord. 

Vast , 

Hastah, 

The  hand. 

Praw , 

Puira , 

Son. 

Gave ,  or  Gan, 

Gramam , 

A  village. 

Mar , 

Mar , 

To  strike. 

Loudnle , 

Lodha,  loved, 

A  whore. 

In  order  to  show  the  relationship  of  the  language  of  the 
Gipsies  in  Scotland,  England,  Germany,  Hungary,  Spain,  and 
Turkey,  and  the  affinity  between  it  and  the  Persian,  Hindos- 
tanee,  Sanscrit,  Pali,  and  Kawi,  I  append  a  table  containing 
the  first  ten  numerals  in  all  these  tongues  : 


LANGUAGE. 


337 


15 


*  The  four  last  of  these  numerals,  in  the  Scottish  Gipsy  language,  differ  very  considerably  from  the  corresponding  ones  in  the  Table.  I  leave 
the  matter  to  be  settled  by  philologists. 


338 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


That  the  Gipsy  language,  in  Scotland,  is  intermixed  with 
cant,  or  slang,  and  other  words, is  certain, as  will  appear  by  the 
specimens  I  have  exhibited.*  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  how¬ 
ever,  that  were  the  cant  and  slang  used  by  our  Hash  men  and 
others  carefully  examined,  much  of  it  would  turn  out  to  be 
corrupted  Hindostanee,  picked  up  from  the  Gipsies.  I  have, 
after  considerable  trouble,  produced,  and,  I  may  venture  to 
say,  faithfully  recorded,  the  raw  materials  as  I  found  them  : 
to  separate  the  other  words  from  the  original  and  genuine 
Gipsy,  is  a  task  I  leave  to  the  learned  philologist.  I  shall 
only  observe,  that  the  way  in  which  the  Gipsy  language  has 
been  corrupted  is  this  :  That  whenever  the  Gipsies  find 
words  not  understood  by  the  people  among  whom  they 
travel,  they  commit  such  to  memory,  and  use  them  in  their 
conversation,  for  the  purpose  of  concealment.  In  the  Lowlands 
of  Scotland,  for  example,  they  make  use  of  Gaelic,!'  Welsh, 
Irish,  and  French  words.  These  picked-up  words  and  terms 
have,  in  the  end,  become  part  of  their  own  peculiar  tongue  ; 
yet  some  of  the  Gipsies  are  able  to  point  out  a  number  of 
these  foreign  words,  as  distinguished  from  their  own.  In 
this  manner  do  the  Gipsies  carry  along  with  them  part  of 
the  language  of  every  country  through  which  they  pass4 

*  It  is  remarkable,  considering-  liow  much  the  habits  and  occupations  of 
the  Gipsies  bring  them  in  contact  with  beggars,  thieves,  and  other  bad 
and  disorderly  characters,  how  few  of  the  slang  words  used  by  such  per¬ 
sons  have  been  adopted  by  them. — Rev.  Mr.  Baird’s  Missionary  Report  to 
the  Scottish  Church,  1840. — Ed. 

■f  Of  the  Highland  Gipsies,  I  had  the  following  account  from  a  person  of 
observation,  and  highly  worthy  of  credit:  There  are  many  settled  in  Kin- 
t3’re,  who  travel  through  the  Highlands  and  Lowlands  annually.  They 
certainly  speak,  among  themselves,  a  language  totally  distinct  from  either 
Gaelic  or  Lowland  Scotch. — Blackwood’ s  Magazine. — Ed. 

\  “  There  is  reason  for  supposing  that  the  Gipsies  had  been  wandering  in 
the  remote  regions  of  Sclavonia,  for  a  considerable  time  previous  to  enter¬ 
ing  Bohemia — the  first  civilized  country  of  Europe  in  which  they  made 
their  appearance;  as  their  language  abounds  with  words  of  Sclavonic 
origin,  which  could  not  have  been  adopted  in  a  hasty  passage  through  a 
wild  and  half  populated  country.” — Borrow. 

That  the  Gipsies  were,  in  some  way,  drawn  together,  at  a  very  remote 
age,  and  became  amalgamated,  so  as  to  form  a  race,  can  hardly  admit  of  a 
doubt.  But  it  is  an  opinion  that  has  no  reasonable  foundation  which  sup¬ 
poses  that  they  suddenly  took  their  departure  from  India,  and  travelled 
together,  till  they  entered  and  spread  over  Europe.  They  may,  as  I  have 
conjectured  in  the  Introduction,  have  separated  into  bands,  and  passed  into 
countries  in  Asia,  as  they  have  done  in  Europe ;  and  existed  in  Asia,  and 
Africa,  long  before  they  appeared  in  Europe.  For  this  reason,  their  lan¬ 
guage  ought  to  vary  in  different  countries ;  and  it  would  be  enough  to 


LANGUAGE. 


339 


In  concluding  my  account  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  language, 
I  may  observe,  that  I  think  few  who  have  perused  my  de¬ 
tails  will  hesitate  for  a  moment  in  pronouncing  that  the 
people  have  migrated  from  Hindostan.  Many  convincing 
proofs  of  the  origin  of  the  race  have  been  adduced  bv  Grell- 
mann,  Hoy  kind,  and  Bright ;  and  I  think  that  my  researches, 
made  in  Scotland  alone,  have  confirmed  the  statements  of 
these  respectable  authors. 

The  question  which  now  remains  to  be  solved  is  this  : 
From  what  tribe  or  nation  at  present  in,  or  originally  from, 
Hindostan  are  the  Gipsies  descended  ?  That  they  have 
been  a  robber  or  predatory  nation,  from  principle  as  well 
as  practice,  I  am  convinced  little  doubt  can  be  entertained. 
Even  yet,  the  greater  the  art  and  address  displayed  in  com¬ 
mitting  a  dexterous  theft  or  robbery,  the  higher  is  the  merit 
of  such  an  action  esteemed  among  their  fraternity.  I  am 
also  convinced  that  this  general,  or  national,  propensity  to 
plunder  has  been  the  chief  cause  of  the  Gipsies  concealing 
their  origin,  language,  customs,  and  religious  observances, 
at  the  time  they  entered  the  territories  of  civilized  nations, 
and  up  to  this  time.  The  intelligent  old  Gipsy,  whose  ac¬ 
quaintance  I  made  at  St.  Boswell’s,  distinctly  told  me,  that 
his  tribe  were  originally  a  nation  of  thieves  and  robbers  ; 
and  it  is  quite  natural  to  suppose  that,  when  they  found 
theft  and  robbery  punished  with  such  severity,  in  civilized 
society,  everything  relating  to  them  would  be  kept  a  pro¬ 
found  secret. 

The  tribe  in  India  whose  customs,  manners,  and  habits 
have  the  greatest  resemblance  to  those  of  the  Gipsies,  arc 
the  Nuts,  or  Bazcgurs  ;  an  account  of  which  is  to  be  found 
in  the  7th  volume  of  the  Asiatic  Researches,  page  451.  In 
Blackwood’s  Magazine  we  find  the  following  paragraph  rela¬ 
tive  to  these  Nuts,  or  Bazegurs,  which  induces  a  belief  that 
these  people  are  a  branch  of  the  Gipsy  nation,  and  a  tribe 
of  the  highest  antiquity.  They  are  even  supposed  to  be  the 
wild,  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  India. 

identify  them  as  the  same  race,  were  the  substance  of  their  language,  and 
their  customs,  or  even  their  cast  of  mind,  the  same.  In  speaking  of  the 
Hungarian  Gipsies,  Grellmann  says,  that  their  speech  contains  words  from 
the  Turkish,  Sclavonian,  Greek,  Latin,  Wallachian,  Hungarian,  and  German  ; 
but  that  it  would  not  be  absurd  to  pronounce  that  there  remain  more,  or  at 
least  different,  Gipsy  words  among  those  residing  in  one  country  than  an¬ 
other. — Ed. 


340 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


“A  lady  of  rank,  who  has  resided  some  time  in  India, 
lately  informed  me  that  the  Gipsies  are  to  be  found  there, 
in  the  same  way  as  in  England,  and  practise  the  same  arts  of 
posture-making  and  tumbling,  fortune-telling,  stealing,  and 
so  forth.  The  Indian  Gipsies  are  called  Nuts,  or  Bazegurs, 
and  they  are  believed  by  many  to  be  the  remains  of  an 
aboriginal  race,  prior  even  to  the  Hindoos,  and  who  have 
never  adopted  the  worship  of  Bramah.  They  are  entirely 
different  from  the  Parias,  who  are  Hindoos  that  have  lost 
caste,  and  so  become  degraded.” 

The  Nuts,  or  Bazegurs,  under  the  name  of  Decoits  or 
Dukyts,  are,  it  seems,  guilty  of  frequently  sacrificing  victims 
to  the  goddess  Calie,  under  circumstances  of  horror  and 
atrocity  scarcely  credible.  Now  the  old  Gipsy,  who  gave 
me  the  particulars  relative  to  the  Gipsy  sacrifice  of  the 
horse,  stated  that  sometimes  both  woman  and  horse  were 
sacrificed,  when  the  woman,  by  the  action  of  the  horse,  was 
found  to  have  greatly  offended. 

In  the  ordinances  of  Menu,  the  Nuts,  or  Bazegurs,  are  called 
Nata.  Now,  our  Scottish  Gipsies,  at  this  moment,  call 
themselves  Naivkens,  a  word  not  very  dissimilar  in  sound  to 
Nata.  When  I  have  spoken  to  them,  in  their  own  words, 
I  have  been  asked,  “  Are  you  a  naivken  ?”  a  word  to  which 
they  attach  the  meaning  of  a  ivanderer,  or  traveller — one 
who  can  do  any  sort  of  work  for  himself  that  may  be  re¬ 
quired  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  X. 


PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  NUMBER  OP  THE  GIPSIES  IN  SCOT- 


of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  lias,  I  believe,  represented  them  as  all  having  remark¬ 
ably  dark  hair,  black  eyes,  and  swarthy  complexions.  This 
notion  has  been  carried  to  such  an  extent,  that  Hume,  on  the 
criminal  laws  of  Scotland,  thinks  the  black  eyes  should 
make  part  of  the  evidence  in  proving  an  individual  to  be  of 
the  Gipsy  race.  The  Gipsies,  in  Scotland,  of  the  last  cen¬ 
tury,  were  of  all  complexions,  varying  from  light  flaxen  hair, 
and  blue  eyes,  and  corresponding  complexions,  to  hair  of 
raven  black,  dark  eyes,  and  swarthy  countenances.  Many 
of  them  had  deep-red  and  light-yellow  hair,  with  very  fair 
complexions.  I  am  convinced  that  one-half  of  the  Gipsies 
in  Scotland,  at  the  present  day,  have  blue  eyes,  instead  of 
black  ones.  According  to  the  statistical  account  of  the 
parish  of  Borthwick,  Mid-Lothian,  (1839,)  the  Baillies,  Wil¬ 
sons,  and  Taits,  at  Middleton,  the  descendants  of  the  old 
Tweed-dale  Gipsies,  are  described  as,  “  in  general,  of  a 
colour  rather  cadaverous,  or  of  a  darkish  pale  ;  their  cheek¬ 
bones  high  ;  their  eyes  small,  and  light  coloured  ;  their  hair 
of  a  dingy  white  or  red  colour,  and  wiry ;  and  their  skin, 
drier  and  of  a  tougher  texture  than  that  of  the  people  of 
this  country.”  This  question  of  colour  has  been  illustrated 
in  my  enquiry  into  the  history  of  the  Gipsy  language  ;  for 
the  language  is  the  only  satisfactory  thing  by  which  to  test 
a  Gipsy,  let  his  colour  be  what  it  may. 

In  other  countries,  besides  Scotland,  the  Gipsies  are  not  all 
of  one  uniform  swarthy  hue.  A  Russian  gentleman  stated 
to  me  that  many  of  the  Gipsies  in  Finland  have  light  hair, 
and  fair  complexions.  I  am  also  informed  there  are  Gipsies 
in  Arabia  with  fair  hair. 


LAND. 


y/'H 

Every  author  who  has  written  on  the  subic 


342 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


Among  many  other  mal-practices,  the  Gipsies  have,  in  all 
countries,  been  accused  of  stealing  children  ;  but  what  be¬ 
came  of  these  kidnapped  infants,  no  one  appears  to  have 
given  any  account,  that  I  am  aware  of.  To  satisfy  myself 
on  this  trait  of  their  character,  I  enquired  of  a  Gipsy  the 
reasons  which  induced  his  tribe  to  steal  children.  He  can¬ 
didly  acknowledged  the  practice,  and  said  that  the  stolen 
children  were  adopted  as  members  of  the  tribe,  and  in¬ 
structed  in  the  language,  and  all  the  mysteries  of  the  body. 
They  became,  he  said,  equally  hardy,  clever,  and  expert  in 
all  the  practices  of  the  fraternity.  The  male  Gipsies  were 
very  fond  of  marrying  the  stolen  females.  Some  of  the  kid¬ 
napped  children  were  made  servants,  or,  rather,  a  sort  of 
slaves,  to  the  tribe. .  They  considered  that  the  occasional 
introduction  of  another  race  into  their  own,  and  mixing  the 
Gipsy  blood,  in  that  manner,  invigorated  and  strengthened 
their  race.  In  this  manner  would  the  Gipsies  alter  the 
complexion  of  their  race,  by  the  introduction  of  foreign 
blood  among  them.* 

*  An  objection  is  perhaps  started,  that  these  incorporated  individuals  are 
not  Gipsies.  They  have  been  brought  into  the  body  at  such  an  age  as  to 
leave  no  trace  of  past  recollections,  leaving  alone  past  associations.  There 
was  no  occasion  for  such  children  being  either  “  squalling  infants,”  or  of 
such  an  age  as  was  likely  to  lead  them  to  “  betray  the  Gipsies,”  as  Mr. 
Borrow  supposes  would  be  the  case,  when  he  says  that  Gipsies  have  never 
stolen  children,  to  bring  them  up  as  Gipsies.  How  are  they  to  discover 
their  origin,  when  so  many  of  the  body  around  them  have  the  same  colour 
of  hair  and  complexion  ?  If  the  idea  has  ever  entered  into  their  imagina¬ 
tions,  it  has  led  to  a  greater  antipathy  towards  their  own  race,  and  attach¬ 
ment  to  the  tribe,  from  the  special  education  which  they  have  received  to 
those  ends.  So  far  ns  the  matter  of  blood  is  concerned,  they  are  not  what 
may  be  physiologically  called  Gipsies;  and,  by  being  married  to  Gipsies, 
they  become  doubly  attached  to  the.  body.  What  has  been  said  of  children 
introduced  among  the  Gipsies,  in  the  way  described,  applies  with  infinitely 
greater  force  to  those  born  of  one  of  such  parents. 

Suppose,  for  instance,  that  the  Spanish  race  was  originally  of  an  exclu¬ 
sively  dark  hair  and  complexion  :  should  we  therefore  say  that  a  fair 
Spaniard,  at  the  present  day,  was  no  Spaniard  ?  Or  that  the  Turks  of  Con¬ 
stantinople,  on  account  of  the  mixture  of  their  blood,  were  not  Turks  ?  In 
the  same  manner  are  Gipsies  with  white  blood  in  their  veins  Gipsies.  They 
may  be  half-breed,  but  it  would  be  improper  to  call  them  half-caste,  Gipsies. 
But  what  are  full-blood  Gipsies,  to  commence  with  ?  The  idea  itself  is  in¬ 
tangible  ;  for,  by  adopting,  more  or  less,  wherever  they  have  been,  others 
into  their  body,  during  their  singular  history,  a  pure  Gipsy,  like  the  pure 
Gipsy  language,  is  doubtless  nowhere  to  be  found. 

An  English  Gipsy  acquaintance,  of  perfect  European  appearance,  who, 
for  love  of  race  and  language,  may  be  termed  “  a  Gipsy  of  the  Gipsies,” 
admitted  that  he  was  only  one-eighth  Gipsy  ;  his  father,  a  full-blood  white, 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


343 


Before  going  into  details  to  show  the  condition  in  which 
the  Gipsies  are  at  the  present  day,  I  will  consider,  shortly, 
the  causes  which  have  contributed  to  the  change  that  has 
come  over  their  outward  circumstances,  and  driven  so  many 
of  them,  as  it  were,  “  to  cover,”  in  consequence  of  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  times  on  which  they  had  fallen  :  a  state  of  things 
which,  however  unfortunate  to  them,  in  their  peculiar  way 
of  thinking,  lias  been  of  so  much  benefit  to  civilization,  and 
society  at  large. 

About  the  commencement  of  the  American  war  of  in¬ 
dependence,  in  1775,  the  Gipsies,  in  Scotland,  occupied  a  very 
singular  position  in  society.  Instead  of  being  the  proscribed, 
and,  as  they  thought,  persecuted,  members  of  the  community, 
many  of  them  then  became  the  preservers  of  the  peace  and 
good  order  of  the  country.  The  country,  as  appears  by  the 
periodical  publications  of  the  day,  was,  about  this  time, 
greatly  pestered  by  rogues  and  vagabonds.  The  Gipsies 
had  art  enough  to  get  a  number  of  their  chiefs  appointed 
constables,  peace-officers,  and  country -keepers,  in  several 
counties  in  Scotland.  These  public  officers  were  to  clear 
the  country  of  all  idle  vagrants,  vagabonds,  and  disturbers 
of  the  peace.  This  was,  sure  enough,  a  very  extraordinary 
employment  for  the  Gipsies.  The  situation  of  country- 
keeper  was,  of  all  others,  the  office  in  society  the  most  COm- 

having  married  a  quadroon  Gipsy.  lie  spoke  Gipsy  with  great  fluency-, 
lie  married  a  seven-eighths  Gipsy.  Were  iiis  descendants  to  marry  what 
are  supposed  to  be  pure  Gipsies,  the  result  would  be  as  follows:  The  first 
generation,  (his  children,)  would  be  one-half  Gipsy ;  the  second,  three- 
fourths ;  the  third,  seven-eighths  ;  the  fourth,  fifteen-sixteenths ;  the  fifth, 
thirty-one  thirty-seconds;  and  the  sixth,  sixty-three  sixty-fourths.  If  this 
were  to  go  on  ad  infinitum,  the  issue  would  always  lack  the  one  part  to 
make  the  full  blood.  But  the  Gipsies  do  not  calculate  their  vulgar  fractions 
so  closely  as  that;  the  division  of  the  blood  doubtless  bothers  them,  so  that 
they  “  lump”  the  question.  What  has  been  said,  is  breeding  up.  Some¬ 
times  they  breed  down,  and  sometimes  across.  Mixing  the  blood,  in  this 
way,  is  quite  a  peculiarity  among  the  English  Gipsies.  I  asked  my  friend, 
if  he  was  sure  his  wife  was  a  pure  Gipsy.  He  said  she  was  considered 
such,  (I  have  put  her  down  at  seven-eighths,)  but  that  one  of  her  forefathers 
was  a  fair-haired  French  Gipsy.  According  to  a  well-admitted  principle  in 
physiology,  a  fair-haired  Gipsy,  of  almost  full  blood,  is  by  no  means  so  vara 
avis  in  terris  as  a  white  crow.  Some  of  the  children  of  my  acquaintance 
took  after  himself,  and  had  blue  eyes  ;  and  others  after  the  mother,  and 
had  black  ones.  But  the  English  Gipsies,  (the  tented  ones  at  least,)  are 
much  purer,  in  point  of  blood,  than  their  brethren  in  Scotland.  Many  of 
the  Irish  Gipsies  have  very  red  hair — fiery  and  shaggy  in  the  extreme. 
Indeed,  they  seem  to  be  pretty  much  all  of  a  fairish  kind. — Ed. 


344 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


pletely  to  tlieir  liking.  It  gave  them  authority  over  every 
rogue  in  the  country,  ancl  they  certainly  followed  out  their 
instructions  to  the  very  letter.  They  hunted  down,  with 
the  utmost  vigilance,  every  delinquent  who  was  not  of  their 
tribe  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they  took  especial  care  to 
protect  every  individual  of  their  own  fraternity,  excepting 
those  that  were  obnoxious  to  themselves.  When  it  agreed 
with  their  inclinations,  these  Gipsy  country-keepers  some¬ 
times  caused  stolen  property  to  be  returned  to  the  owners,  as 
if  it  had  been  done  by  magic.  It  is  needless  to  observe  that 
they  were  themselves  the  very  chiefs  of  the  depredators,  but 
had  generally  the  dexterity  never  to  be  seen  in  the  trans¬ 
actions.* 

A  Gipsy  country-keeper  was  at  the  height  of  his  vanity 
and  glory,  when  he  got  an  unfortunate  individual  of  the 
community  into  his  clutches.  In  the  presence  of  his  captive, 
he  would  draw  his  sword,  flourish  it  in  the  air,  and  swear  a 
terrible  oath,  that  he  would,  at  a  blow,  cut  the  head  from 
his  body,  if  he  made  the  least  attempt  at  escape. 

The  public  services  of  the  Gipsies  were  in  a  short  time 
discontinued,  as  their  conduct  only  made  matters  a  great 
deal  worse.  A  friend  of  minet  saw  those  Gipsy  constables, 
for  Peebles-shire,  sworn  into  office,  at  the  town  of  Peebles, 
when  they  were  first  appointed.  He  said  he  never  saw 
such  a  set  of  gloomy,  strange-looking  fellows,  in  his  life  ; 
and  expressed  his  surprise  at  the  conduct  of  the  county 
magistrates,  for  employing  such  banditti  as  conservators  of 
the  public  peace.  The  most  extraordinary  circumstance 
attending  their  appointment,  he  said,  was,  that  not  one  of 
them  had  a  permanent  residence  within  the  county. 

During  the  American  war,  however,  the  tide  of  fortune 
again  completely  turned  against  the  Gipsies.  The  Govern¬ 
ment  was  in  need  of  soldiers  and  sailors  ;  the  Gipsies  were 
a  proscribed  race ;  their  peculiar  habits  were  continually 

*  The  following  extract  from  the  Fife  Herald,  for  the  18th  June,  1829, 
will  give  the  reader  an  idea  of  a  Scotch  “  country-keeper,”  at  the  time 
alluded  to :  “A  Gipsy  chief,  of  the  name  of  Pat.  Gillespie,  was  keeper  for 
the  county  of  Fife.  He  rode  on  horse-back,  armed  with  a  sword  and  pistols 
attended  by  four  men,  on  foot,  carrying  staves  and  batons.  Fie  appears  to 
have  been  a  sort  of  travelling  justice  of  the  peace.  The  practice  seems  to 
have  been  general.  About  the  commencement  of  the  late  French  war,  a 
man,  of  the  name  of  Robert  Scott,  (Rob  the  Laird,)  was  keeper  for  the  coun¬ 
ties  of  Peebles,  Selkirk,  and  Roxburgh.” 

f  The  late  Mr.  Charles  Alexander,  tenant  of  Happrcw. 


MODE IiN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


involving  them  in  serious  scrapes  and  difficulties  ;  the  con¬ 
sequence  was,  that  the  Tinklers  were  apprehended  all  over 
the  country,  and  forced  into  our  fleets  and  armies  then 
serving  in  America.  All  the  aged  persons  of  intelligence 
with  whom  I  have  conversed  on  this  subject,  agree  in  repre¬ 
senting  that  the  kidnapping  system  at  that  period  was  the 
means  of  greatly  breaking  up  and  dispersing  the  Gipsy 
bands  in  Scotland.  From  this  blow  these  unruly  vagrants 
have  never  recovered  their  former  position  in  the  country.* 

The  war  in  America  had  been  concluded  only  a  few  years 
before  that  with  France  broke  out.  Our  army  and  navy 
were,  of  necessity,  again  augmented  to  an  extent  beyond 
precedent.  It  was  not  difficult  to  find  pretences  for  renew¬ 
ing  the  chase  of  the  Gipsies,  and  apprehending  them,  under 
the  name  of  vagrants  and  disorderly  persons.  They  were 
again  compelled  to  enlist  into  our  regiments,  and  embark 
on  board  our  ships  of  war,  as  sailors  and  marines.  An  in¬ 
dividual  stated-  to  me  that,  about  the  commencement  of  this 
war,  he  had  seen  English  Gipsies  sent,  in  scores  at  a  time, 
on  board  of  men-of-war,  in  the  Downs. 

But,  rather  than  be  forced  into  a  service  so  much  against 
their  inclinations,  numerous  instances  occurred  of  Gipsies 
voluntarily  mutilating  themselves.  In  the  very  custody  of 
press-gangs,  and  other  hardened  kidnappers,  the  determined 
Gipsies  have,  with  hatchets,  razors,  and  other  sharp  instru¬ 
ments,  struck  from  their  hands  a  thumb,  or  finger  or  two, 
to  render  them  unfit  for  a  military  life.  Several  instances 
have  come  to  my  knowledge  of  these  resolute  acts  of  the 
Scottish  Gipsies.  I  have  myself  seen  several  of  the  tribe 
without  fingers  ;  and,  on  enquiry,  I  found  that  they  them¬ 
selves  had  struck  them  from  their  hands,  in  consequence  of 
their  aversion  to  become  soldiers  and  sailors.  One  man,  of 
the  name  of  Graham,  during  the  last  war,  laid  his  hand  upon 
a  block  of  wood,  and,  in  a  twinkling,  struck,  with  a  hatchet, 
his  thumb  from  one  of  his  hands.  Another,  of  the  name 
of  Gordon,  struck  two  of  his  fingers  from  one  of  his  hands 

*  We  may  very  readily  believe  that  almost  all  of  the  Gipsies  -would 
desert  the  army,  on  landing  in  America,  and  marry  Gipsy  women  in  the 
colonies,  or  bring  others  out  front  home,  or  marry  with  common  natives, 
or  return  home.  Indeed;  native-born  American  Gipsies  say  that  many  of 
the  British  Gipsies  voluntarily  accepted  the  bounty,  and  a  passage  to  the 
colonies,  during  the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  deserted  the  army  on  land¬ 
ing.  This  would  lead  to  a  migration  of  the  tribe  generally  to  America. — Ed. 

15* 


346 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


with  a  razor.  Such,  indeed,  was  the  aversion  which  the 
whole  Gipsy  race  had  to  a  military  life,  that  even  mothers 
sometimes  mutilated  their  infants,  by  cutting  off  certain  fin¬ 
gers.  to  render  them,  when  they  became  men,  entirely  inca¬ 
pable  of  serving  in  either  the  army  or  navy.* 

Such  causes  as  these,  taken  in  connection  with  the  improved 

*  “  When  Paris  was  garrisoned  by  the  allied  troops,  in  the  year  3815,  I 
was  walking  with  a  British  officer,  near  a  post  held  by  the  Prussian  troops. 
He  happened,  at  the  time,  to  smoke  a  cigar,  and  was  about,  while  passing 
the  sentinel,  to  take  it  out  of  his  mouth,  in  compliance  with  a  general  regu¬ 
lation  to  that  effect;  when,  greatly  to  the  astonishment  of  the  passengers, 
the  soldier  addressed  him  in  these  words;  ‘  Rauchen  Sie  intmer  fort;  ver- 
damt  sey  der  Preussische  Dienst ;'  that  is  :  ‘  Smoke  away  ;  may  the  Prussian 

service  be  d - d.’  Upon  looking  closer  at  the  man,  he  seemed  plainly  to 

be  a  Zigenner,  or  Gipsy,  who  took  this  method  of  expressing  his  detestation 
of  the  duty’  imposed  on  him.  When  the  risk  he  ran,  by  doing  so,  is  con¬ 
sidered,  it  will  be  found  to  argue  a  deep  degree  of  dislike  which  could  make 
him  commit  himself  so  unwarily.  If  he  had  been  overheard  by  a  sergeant 
or  corporal,  the  prnqel  would  have  been  the  slightest  instrument  of  punish¬ 
ment  employed.” — Sir  Walter  Scott  :  Note  to  Quentin  Durward. 

Mutilation  was  also  very  common  among  the  English  Gipsies,  during  the 
French  war.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  same  took  place  among  them, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  late  Russian  war  ;  from  which  we  may  con¬ 
clude,  that  they  had  suffered  severely  during  the  previous  war,  or  they 
would  not  have  resorted  to  so  extreme  a  measure  for  escaping  military  duty, 
when  a  press-gang  was  not  even  thought  of.  An  English  Gipsy,  at  the  lat¬ 
ter  time,  laid  two  of  his  fingers  on  a  block  of  wood,  and,  handing  his  broom- 
knife  to  his  neighbour,  said,  “Now,  take  off  these  fingers,  or  I’ll  take  off 
your  head  with  this  other  hand  !” 

During  the  French  war,  Gipsies  again  and  again  accepted  the  bounty 
for  recruits,  but  took  “  French  leave”  of  the  service.  The  idea  is  finely 
illustrated  in  Burns’  “  Jolly  Beggars 

“  Tune — Clout  the  caudron. 

“  My  bonny  lass,  I  work  in  brass, 

A  Tinkler  is  my  station  : 

I’ve  travell’d  round  all  Christian  ground, 

In  this  my  occupation. 

I’ve  ta’en  the  gold,  an’  been  enroll’d 
In  many  a  noble  squadron; 

But  vain  they  search’d  when  off  I  march’d 
To  go  and  clout  the  caudron.” 

Poosie  Nancie  and  her  reputed  daughter.  Racer  Jess,  were  very  probably 
Gipsies,  who  kept  a  poor  “  Tinkler  llowff ”  at  Mauchline. 

Gipsies  sometimes  voluntarily  join  the  navy’,  as  musicians.  Here  their 
vanity  will  have  a  field  for  conspicuous  display  ;  for  a  good  fifer,  on  board 
of  a  man-of-war,  in  accompanying  certain  work  with  his  music,  is  equal  to 
the  services  of  ten  men.  There  were  some  Gipsy  musicians  in  the  fleet  at 
Sebastopol.  But,  generally  speaking,  Gipsies  are  like  cats — not  very  fond 
of  the  water. — Ed. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


347 


internal  administration  of  the  country,  and  the  progression 
of  the  age,  have  cast  a  complexion  over  the  outward  aspect 
of  the  bulk  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  race,  entirely  different 
from  what  it  was  before  they  came  into  existence. 

Many  of  the  Gipsies  now  keep  shops  of  earthen-ware, 
china,  and  crystal.  Some  of  them,  I  am  informed  on  the 
best  authority,  have  from  one  to  eight  thousand  pounds  in¬ 
vested  in  this  line  of  business.*  I  am  disposed  to  think  that 
few  of  these  shops  were  established  prior  to  the  commence¬ 
ment  of  the  French  war  ;  as  I  find  that  several  of  their 
owners  travelled  the  country  in  their  early  years.  Perhaps 
the  fear  of  being  apprehended  as  vagrants,  and  compelled 
to  enter  the  army  or  navy,  forced  some  of  the  better  sort  to 
settle  in  towns.f  Like  their  tribe  in  other  countries,  num¬ 
bers  of  our  Scottish  Gipsies  deal  in  horses  ;  others  keep 
public-houses  ;  and  some  of  them,  as  innkeepers,  will,  in 
heritable  and  moveable  property,  possess,  perhaps,  two  or 
three  thousand  pounds.  These  innkeepers  and  stone-ware 
merchants  are  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  as  Gipsies  ;  yet 
they  all  retain  the  language,  and  converse  in  it,  among 
themselves.  The  females,  as  is  their  custom,  are  particu¬ 
larly  active  in  managing  the  affairs  of  their  respective  con¬ 
cerns. 

Many  of  them  have  betaken  themselves  to  some  of  the 
regular  occupations  of  the  country,  such  as  coopers,  shoe¬ 
makers,  and  plumbers  ;  some  are  masons — an  occupation  to 
which  they  seem  to  have  a  partiality.  Some  of  them  are 
members  of  masons’  lodges.  There  are  many  of  them  itin¬ 
erant  bell-hangers,  and  umbrella-menders.  Among  them 
there  are  tin-smiths,  braziers,  and  cutlers,  in  great  numbers  ; 
and  the  tribe  also  furnish  a  proportion  of  chimney-sweeps. 
I  recollect  of  a  Gipsy,  who  travelled  the  country,  selling 

*  Mr.  Borrow  mentions  having  observed,  at  a  fair  in  Spain,  a  family  of 
Gipsies,  richly  dressed,  after  the  fashion  of  their  nation.  They  had  come 
a  distance  of  upwards  of  a  hundred  leagues.  Some  merchants,  to  whom  he 
was  recommended,  informed  him,  that  they  had  a  credit  on  their  house,  to 
the  amount  of  twenty  thousand  dollars. — Ed. 

f  In  his  enquiry  into  the  present  condition  of  the  Gipsies,  our  author 
has  apparently  confined  his  remarks  exclusively  to  the  body  in  its  present 
wandering  state,  and  such  part  of  it  as  left  the  tent  subsequently  to  the 
commencement  of  the  French  war.  In  the  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies,  the 
subject  will  be  fully’-  reviewed,  from  the  date  of  arrival  of  the  race  in  the 
country. — Ed. 


348 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


earthen-ware,  becoming,  in  the  end,  a  master-sweep.  Several 
were,  and  I  believe  are,  constables  ;  and  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that  the  police  establishments,  in  large  as  well  as 
small  towns,  contain  some  of  the  fraternity.*  Individuals 
of  the  female  Gipsies  are  employed  as  servants,  in  the  fami¬ 
lies  of  respectable  persons,  in  town  and  country.  Some  of 
them  have  been  ladies’  maids,  and  even  house-keepers  to 
clergymen  and  farmers.f  I  heard  of  one,  in  a  very  re¬ 
spectable  family,  who  tvas  constantly  boasting  of  her  ancient 
and  high  descent ;  her  father  being  a  Baillie,  and  her 
mother  a  Faa— the  two  principal  families  in  Scotland. 
Some  of  those  persons  who  sell  gingerbread  at  fairs,  or 
Avhat  the  country-people  call  rowly-powly-men,  are  also  of 
the  Gipsy  race.  Almost  all  these  individuals  hawking  earth¬ 
en-ware  through  the  country,  with  carts,  and  a  large  pro¬ 
portion  of  those  haAvking  japan  and  white-iron  goods,  are 
Gipsies. 

Some  of  the  itinerant  venders  of  inferior  sorts  of  jewelry, 
part  of  which  they  also  manufacture,  and  carry  about  in 
boxes  on  their  shoulders,  are  of  the  tribe  ;  and  some  of 
them  even  carry  these  articles  in  small,  handsome,  light- 
made  carts.  I  had  frequently  observed,  in  my  neighbour- 


*  This  is  quite  common.  An  English  mixed  Gipsy  spontaneously  in¬ 
formed  me  that  he  had  been  a  constable  in  L - ,  and  that  he  had  a  cousin 

who  was  lately  a  runner  in  the  police  establishment  of  M - .  Among 

other  motives  for  the  Gipsies  joining  the  police  is  the  following :  that  such 
is  their  dislike  for  the  people  among  whom  they  live,  owing  to  the  preju¬ 
dice  which  is  entertained  against  them,  that  nothing  gives  them  greater 
satisfaction  than  being  the  instruments  of  affronting  and  punishing  their 
hereditary  enemies.  Besides  this,  the  lounging  and  idle  kind  of  life,  coup¬ 
led  with  the  activity,  of  a  constable,  is  pretty  much  to  their  natural  dispo¬ 
sition.  An  intelligent  mixed  Gipsy  is  calculated  to  make  a  first-rate  con¬ 
stable  and  thief-catcher.  Of  course,  he  will  not  be  very  hard  on  those  of 
his  own  race  who  come  in  his  way. — Ed. 

•j  Our  author  frequently  spoke  of  a  dissenting  Scottish  clergyman  having 
been  married  to  a  Gipsy,  but  was  not  aware,  as  far  as  I  know,  of  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  under  which  the  marriage  took  place.  The  clergyman  was  not, 
in  all  probability,  aware  that  he  was  taking  a  Gipsy  to  his  bosom  ;  and  as 
little  did  the  public  generally  ;  but  it  was  well  known  to  the  initiated  that 
both  her  father  and  mother  had  cut  and  divided  many  a  purse.  The  un¬ 
questionable  character  and  standing  of  the  father,  and  the  prudent  conduct 
of  the  mother,  protected  the  children.  One  of  the  daughters  married  an¬ 
other  dissenting  clergyman,  which  fairly  disarmed  those  not  of  the  Gipsy 
race  of  any  prejudice  towards  the  grand  children.  The  issue  of  these 
marriages  would'  pass  intq  Gipsydom,  as  explained  in  the  Disquisition  on 
the  Gipsies. — Er. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


349 


hood,  a  very  smart-looking  and  well-dressed  man,  who,  with 
his  wife  and  family,  and  a  servant  to  take  care  of  his  chil¬ 
dren,  travelled  the  country,  in  a  neat,  light  cart,  selling 
jewelry.  All  the  family  were  well  dressed.  I  was  curious 
to  know  the  origin  of  this  man,  and,  upon  enquiring  of  one 
of  the  tribe,  but  of  a  different  clan,  I  found  that  he  was  a 
Gipsy,  of  the  name  of  Robertson,  descended  from  the  old 
homers  who  traversed  the  kingdom,  about  half  a  century 
ago.  He  still  retained  the  speech,  peculiar  dance,  and  man¬ 
ner  of  handling  the  cudgel,  the  practices  and  roguish  tricks 
of  his  ancestors.  I  believe  he  also  practised  chain-dropping. 
To  show  the  line  of  life  which  some  of  the  descendants  of 
the  old  style  of  Gipsies  are  now  pursuing,  in  Scotland,  I  will 
give  the  following  anecdote,  which  I  witnessed,  relative  to 
this  Gipsy  jeweller. 

I  happened  to  be  conversing,  about  twenty  years  ago, 
with  four  or  five  individuals,  on  a  public  quay  in  Fifeshire, 
when  a  smart,  well-dressed  sailor,  apparently  of  the  rank  of 
a  mate,  obtruded  himself  on  our  company.  He  said  he  was 
“a  sailor,  and  had  spent  all  his  money  in  a  frolic,  as  many 
thoughtless  sailors  had  done  ;”  and,  pulling  out  a  watch,  he 
continued,  “  he  would  give  his  gold  watch  for  a  mere  trifle, 
to  supply  his  immediate  wants.”  One  of  the  company  at 
once  thought  he  was  an  impostor,  and  told  him  his  watch 
was  not  gold  at  all,  and  worth  very  little  money.  “  Not 
worth  much  money  !”  he  exclaimed  ;  “  why,  I  paid  not  less 
than  ten  francs  for  it,  in  France,  the  other  day  !”  At  this 
assertion,  all  present  burst  out  a  laughing  at  the  impostor’s 
ignorance  in  exposing  his  own  trick.  “  Why,  friend,”  said  a 
ship-master,  who  was  one  of  the  company,  “  a  franc  is  only 
worth  tenpence  ;  so  you  have  paid  just  eight  and  four- 
pence  for  this  valuable  watch  of  yours.  Do  not  attempt  to 
cheat  us  in  this  manner.”  At  finding  himself  so  completely 
exposed,  the  villain  became  furious,  and  stepping  close  up  to 
the  ship-master,  with  abusive  language,  chucked  him  under 
the  chin,  to  provoke  him  to  fight.  I  at  once  perceived  that 
the  feigned  sailor  was  a  professional  boxer  and  cudgel- 
ist,  and  entreated  the  ship-master  not  to  touch  him,  notwith¬ 
standing  his  insolence.  The  “sailor,”  now  disappointed  on 
all  hands,  brandished  his  bludgeon,  and  retreated  back¬ 
wards,  dancing  in  the  Gipsy  manner,  and  twirling  his 
weapon  before  him,  till  he  got  his  back  to  a  wall.  Flere 


350 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


he  set  all  at  defiance,  with,  a  design  that  some  one  should 
strike  at  him,  that  he  might  avenge  the  affront  he  had  re¬ 
ceived.  But  he  was  allowed  to  go  away  without  interrup¬ 
tion.  This  man  was,  in  short,  Robertson,  the  Gipsy  travel¬ 
ling  jeweller,  disguised  as  a  sailor,  and  a  well-known  prize¬ 
fighter. 

Almost  all  those  cheats  called  thimble-riggers,  who  infest 
thoroughfares,  highways  and  byways,  are  also  Gipsies,  of  a 
superior  class.  I  have  tried  them  by  the  language,  and 
found  they  understood  it,  as  has  been  seen  in  my  account  of 
the  Gipsy  language. 

I  need  scarcely  say,  that  all  those  females  who  travel  the 
country  in  families,  selling  articles  made  from  horn,  while 
the  males  practise  the  mysteries  of  the  tinker,  are  that  por¬ 
tion  of  the  Gipsies  who  adhere  more  strictly  to  their  ancient 
customs  and  manner  of  life.  Some  of  the  principal  families 
of  these  nomadic  horner  bands  have  yet  districts  on  which 
none  others  of  the  tribe  dare  encroach.  This  division  of 
the  Gipsies  are,  by  superficial  observers,  considered  the  only 
Gipsies  in  existence  in  Scotland  ;  which  is  a  great  mistake. 
The  author  of  Guy  Mannering,  himself,  seems  to  have  had 
this  class  of  Gipsies,  only,  in  view,  when  he  says,  “  There  are 
not  now  above  five  hundred  of  the  tribe  in  Scotland.” 
Those  who  deal  in  earthen-ware,  and  work  at  the  tinsmith 
business,  call  these  homers  Gipsies  ;  and  nothing  can  give 
greater  offence  to  these  Gipsy  potters  and  smiths  than  to 
ask  them  if  they  ever  made  horn  spoons ;  for,  by  asking 
them  this  question,  you  indirectly  call  them  Gipsies,  an  ap¬ 
pellation  that  alarms  them  exceedingly.* 

Since  the  termination  of  the  long-protracted  French  war, 
the  Gipsies  have,  to  some  extent,  resumed  their  ancient  man¬ 
ners  ;  and  many  of  them  are  to  be  seen  encamped  in  the 
open  fields.  There  are  six  tents  to  be  observed  at  present, 
for  one  during  the  war. .  To  substantiate  what  I  have  said 
of  the  numbers  and  manners  of  the  nomadic  Gipsies  since 

*  It  is  only  within  these  forty  years  that  spoon-making  from  horn  became 
a  regular  trade.  It  would  seem  the  Gipsies  had  a  monopoly  of  the  business ; 
for  I  am  informed  that  the  first  man  in  Scotland  who  served  a  regular  ap¬ 
prenticeship  to  it  was  alive,  in  Glasgow,  in  1836.  [There  is  nothing  in  this 
remark  to  imply  that  the  manufacturing  of  spoons,  and  other  articles,  from 
horn,  may  not  be  monopolized  by  the  Gipsies  yet,  whatever  the  way  in 
which  it  may  be  carried  on. — Ed.] 


^  MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


351 


the  peace,  I  will  give  the  two  following  paragraphs,  taken 
from  the  Caledonian  Mercury  newspaper  : 

“  Tinklers  mid  vngahcmdR  •  The  country  has  been  much 
IrifesfedfoTTate  years,  by  wandering  hordes  of  vagabonds, 
who,  under  pretonce  of  following  the  serviceable  calling  of 
tinkers,  assume  the  name  and  appearance  of  such,  merely  to 
extort  contributions  of  victuals,  and  other  articles  of  value, 
from  the  country-people,  particularly  in  lonely  districts. 
The  evil  has  encreased  rapidly  of  late,  and  calls  loudly  for 
redress  upon  those  in  whose  charge  the  police  of  the  country 
districts  is  placed.  They  generally  travel  in  bands,  varying 
in  number  from  ten  to  thirty  ;  and  wherever  they  pitch  their 
camp,  the  neighbours  are  certain  of  suffering  loss  of  cattle 
or  poultry,  unless  they  submit  to  pay  a  species  of  black-mail, 
to  save  themselves  from  heavier  and  more  irregular  contri¬ 
butions.  These  bands  possess  all  the  vices  peculiar  to  the 
regular  Gipsies,  without  any  of  the  extenuating  qualities 
which  distinguish  these  foreign  tribes.  Unlike  the  latter, 
they  do  not  settle  in  one  place  sufficiently  long  to  attach 
themselves  to  the  soil,  or  to  particular  families  ;  and  seem 
possessed  of  no  industrious  habits,  but  those  of  plunder, 
knavery,  and  riot.  The  chief  headquarters  of  the  hordes 
are  at  the  caves  of  Auchmithie,  on  the  east  coast  of  For¬ 
farshire  ;  from  which,  to  the  wilds  of  Argyleshire,  seems  to 
be  the  usual  route  of  their  bands  ;  small  detachments  being 
sent  off,  at  intermediate  places,  to  extend  the  scene  of  their 
plunder.  Their  numbers  have  been  calculated  by  one  who 
lives  on  the  direct  line  of  their  passage,  through  the  braes 
of  Perthshire,  and  who  has  had  frequent  opportunities  for 
observation  ;  and  he  estimates  them  at  several  hundred.” — 
22 d  August ,  1829. 

“A  horde  of  Gipsies  and  vagabonds  encamped,  last  week, 
in  a  quarry,  on  the  back  of  the  hill  opposite  Cherx-y-bank. 
Their  number  amounted  to  about  thirty.  The  inhabitants 
in  that  quarter  became  alarmed  ;  and  Provost  Ross,  whose 
mansion  is  in  the  vicinity  of  the  new  settlei'S,  ordered  out  a 
strong  posse  of  officers  from  Perth,  to  dislodge  them  ;  which 
they  effected.  The  country  is  new  kept  in  continual  terror 
by  these  vagabonds,  and  it  will  really  be  imperative  on  the 
landed  proprietors  to  adopt  some  decided  measure  for  the 
suppression  of  this  growing  evil.” — 3 d  October ,  1829.* 

*  From  the  numerous  enquiries  I  lnive  made,  I  am  fully  satisfied  that  lha 


352 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


A  gentleman  informed  me  that,  in  the  same  year,  he 
counted,  in  Aberdeenshire,  thirty-five  men,  women,  and  chil¬ 
dren,  in  one  band,  with  six  asses  and  two  carts,  for  carrying 
their  luggage  and  articles  of  merchandise.  Another  indi¬ 
vidual  stated  to  me,  that  upwards  of  three  hundred  of  the 
Gipsies  attended  the  funeral  of  one  of  their  old  females, 
who  died  near  the  bridge  of  Earn.  So  late  as  1841,  the 
sheriff  of  East  Lothian  addressed  a  representation  to  the 
justices  of  the  peace  of  Mid-Lothian,  recommending  a  new 
law  for  the  suppression  of  the  numerous  Gipsy  tents  in  the 
Lothians.  I  have,  myself,  during  a  walk  of  two  hours, 
counted,  in  Edinburgh  and  its  suburbs,  upwards  of  fifty  of 
these  vagrants,  strolling  about.* 

When  I  visited  St.  Boswell’s,  I  felt  convinced,  as  mentioned 
in  the  last  chapter,  that  there  were  upwards  of  three  hundred 
Gipsies  in  the  fair  held  at  that  place.  Part  of  them  formed 
their  carts,  laden  with  earthen-ware,  into  two  lines,  leaving  a 
space  between  them,  like  a  street.  In  the  rear  of  the  carts 
were  a  few  small  tents,  in  which  were  Gipsies,  sleeping  in 
the  midst  of  the  noise  and  bustle  of  the  market ;  and  num¬ 
bers  of  children,  horses,  asses,  and  dogs,  hanging  around 
them.  There  were  also  kettles,  suspended  from  triangles,  in 
which  victuals  were  cooking  ;  and  many  of  the  Gipsies  en¬ 
joyed  a  warm  meal,  while  others  at  the  market  had  to  con¬ 
tent  themselves  with  a  cold  repast.  In  the  midst  of  the 
throng  of  this  large  and  crowded  fair,  I  noticed,  without  the 
least  discomposure  on  their  part,  some  of  the  male  Gipsies 
changing  their  dirty,  greasy-looking  shirts  for  clean  ones, 

greater  part  of  the  vagrants  mentioned  in  these  notices  are  Gipsies ;  at 
least  most  of  them  speak  the  Gipsy  language.  [It  matters  not  whether  the 
people  mentioned  are  wholly  or  only  partly  of  Gipsy  blood  ;  it  is  sufficient 
if  they  have  been  reared  as  Gipsies.  There  are  enough  of  the  tribe  in  the 
country  to  follow  the  kind  of  life  mentioned,  to  the  extent  the  people  can 
afford  to  submit  to,  without  having  their  prerogatives  infringed  upon  by 
.ordinary  natives.  Where  will  we  find  any  of  the  latter,  who  would  betake 
themselves  to  the  tent,  and  follow  such  a  mode  of  life?  Besides,  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  with  their  organization,  would  not  tolerate  it ;  and  far  less  would  they 
allow  any  common  natives,  of  the  lowest  class,  to  travel  in  their  com¬ 
pany. — Ed.] 

*  Owing  to  such  causes  as  these,  many  of  the  Gipsies  have  been  again 
driven  into  their  holes.  It  is  amusing  to  notice  the  tricks  which  some^jf 
them  resort  to,  in  evading  the  letter  of  the  Vagrant  Act.  They  generally 
encamp  on  the  borders  of  two  counties,  which  they  will  cross — passing 
over  into  the  other — to  avoid  being  taken  up :  for  county  officers  have  no 
jurisdiction  over  them,  beyond  the,  boundaries  of  their  respective  shires.—JIiv- 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


353 


leaving  no  covering  on  their  tawny  persons,  but  their 
breeches  ;  and  some  of  the  old  females,  with  bare  shoulders 
and  breasts,  combing  their  dark  locks,  like  black  horses’ 
tails,  mixed  with  grey.  “  Ae  whow !  look  at  that,”  ex¬ 
claimed  a  countryman  to  his  companion  ;  and,  without  wait¬ 
ing  for  his  friend’s  reply,  he  gravely  added  :  “Everything 
after  its  kind.”  The  Gipsies  were,  in  short,  dressing  them¬ 
selves  for  the  fair,  in  the  midst  of  the  crowd,  regardless  of 
everything  passing  around  them. 

On  my  return  from  the  English  Border,  I  passed  over  the 
field  where  the  fair  had  been  held,  two  days  before,  and 
found,  to  my  surprise,  the  Gipsies  occupying  their  original 
encampment.  They,  alone,  were  in  possession  of  St.  Boswell’s 
Green.  I  counted  twenty-four  carts,  thirty  horses,  twenty 
asses,  and  about  thirty  dogs  ;  and  I  thought  there  were  up¬ 
wards  of  a  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  on  the  spot. 
The  horses  were,  in  general,  complete  rosinantes — as  lean, 
worn-out,  wretched-looking  animals,  as  possibly  could  be  im¬ 
agined.  The  field  trampled  almost  to  mortar,  by  the  mul¬ 
titude  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep,  and  human  beings,  at  the 
fair  ;  the  lean,  jaded  and  lame  horses,  braying  asses,  and 
surly-looking  dogs  ;  the  groups  of  miserable  furniture,  ragged 
children,  and  gloomy-looking  parents  ;  a  fire,  here  and  there, 
smoking  before  as  many  miserable  tents — when  contrasted 
with  the  gaily-dressed  multitude,  of  both  sexes,  on  the  spot, 
two  days  before — presented  a  scene  unequalled  for  its 
wretched,  squalid  and  desolate  appearance.  Any  one  desirous 
of  viewing  an  Asiatic  encampment,  in  Scotland,  should  visit 
St.  Boswell’s  Green,  a  day  or  two  after  the  fair.* 

The  following  may  be  said  to  be  about  the  condition  in 
which  the  present  race  of  Scottish  tinkering  Gipsies  are  to 


*  St.  Boswell’s  fair  “  is  the  resort  of  many  salesmen  of  goods,  and,  in 
particular,  of  tinkers.  Bands  of  these  very  peculiar  people,  the  direct  de¬ 
scendants  of  the  original  Gipsies,  who  so  much  annoyed  the  country  in  the 
fifteenth  century,  haunt  the  fair,  for  the  disposal  of  earthen-ware,  horn 
spoons,  and  tin  culinary  utensils.  They  possess,  in  general,  horses  and 
carts,  and  they  form  their  temporary  camp  by  each  whomling  his  cart  up¬ 
side  down,  and  forming  a  lodgement  with  straw  and  bedding  beneath.  Cook¬ 
ing  is  performed  outside  the  craal,  in  Gipsy  fashion.  There  could  not,  per¬ 
haps,  be  witnessed,  at  the  present  day,  in  Britain,  a  more  amusing  and 
interesting  scene,  illustrative  of  a  rude  period,  than  is  here  annually  ex¬ 
hibited.’’ —  Chambers’  Gazetteer  of  Scotland.  [This  writer  is  in  error  as  to 
the  Gipsies  annoying  the  country  in  the  fifteenth  century:  that  occurred 
during  the  three  following  centuries. — En.] 


354 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


"be  found  :  I  visited,  at  one  time,  a  horde  of  Gipsy  tinsmiths, 
bivouacked  by  the  side  of  a  small  streamlet,  about  half  a 
mile  from  the  town  of  Inverkeithing.  It  consisted  of  three 
married  couples,  the  heads  of  as  many  families,  one  grown¬ 
up,  unmarried  female,  and  six  half-clad  children  below  six 
years  of  age.  Including  the  more  grown-up  members,  scat¬ 
tered  about  in  the  neighbourhood,  begging  victuals,  there 
must  have  been  above  twenty  souls  belonging  to  this  band. 
The  tinsmiths  had  two  horses  and  one  ass,  for  carrying 
their  luggage,  and  several  dogs.  They  remained,  during 
three  cold  and  frosty  nights,  encamped  in  the  open  fields, 
with  no  tents  or  covering,  for  twenty  individuals,  but  two 
pairs  of  old  blankets.*  Some  of  the  youngest  children,  how¬ 
ever,  were  pretty  comfortably  lodged  at  night.  The  band 
had  several  boxes,  or  rather  old  chests,  each  about  four  feet 
long,  two  broad,  and  two  deep,  in  which  they  carried  their 
white-iron  plates,  working  tools,  and  some  of  their  infants, 
on  the  backs  of  their  horses.  In  these  chests  the  children 
passed  the  night,  the  lids  being  raised  a  little,  to  prevent 
suffocation.  The  stock  of  working  tools,  for  each  family, 
consisted  of  two  or  three  files,  as  many  small  hammers,  a 
pair  of  bellows,  a  wooden  mallet,  a  pair  of  pincers,  a  pair  of 
large  shears,  a  crucible,  a  soldering-iron  or  two,  and  a  small 
anvil,  of  a  long  shape,  which  was  stuck  into  the  ground. 

The  females  as  well  as  the  males  of  this  horde  of  Gipsies 
were  busily  employed  in  manufacturing  white-iron  into 
household  utensils,  and  the  clink  of  their  hammers  was 

*  The  Gipsies’  supreme  luxury  is  to  lie,  day  and  night,  so  near  the  fire 
as  to  be  in  danger  of  burning.  At  the  same  time,  they  can  bear  to  travel 
in  the  severest  cold,  bare-headed,  with  no  other  covering  than  a  torn  shirt., 
or  some  old  rags  carelessly  thrown  over  them,  without  fear  of  catching 
cold,  cough,  or  any  other  disorder.  They  are  a  people  blessed  with  an 
iron  constitution.  Neither  wet  nor  dry  weather,  heat  nor  cold,  let  the  ex¬ 
tremes  follow  each  other  ever  so  close,  seems  to  have  any  effect  upon  them. 
—  Grellmann  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. 

Their  power  of  resisting  cold  is  truly  wonderful,  as  it  is  not  uncommon 
to  find  them  encamped,  in  the  midst  of  the  snow,  in  light  canvas  tents, 
when  the  temperature  is  25  or  30  degrees  below  freezing  point,  according 
to  Raumer. — Borrow  on  the  Russian  Gipsies. 

It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  poor  Scottish  Gipsy  wrap  himself  and 
wife  in  a  thin,  torn  blanket,  and  pass  the  night,  in  the  cold  of  December,  in 
the  open  air,  by  the  wayside.  On  rising  up  in  the  morning,  they  will 
shake  themselves  in  their  rags,  as  birds  of  prey,  in  coming  off  their  perch, 
do  their  feathers  ;  make  for  the  nearest  public-house,  with,  perhaps,  their 
last  copper,  for  a  gill ;  and,  like  the  ravens,  go  in  search  of  a  breakfast, 
wherever  and  whenever  Providence  may  send  it  to  them. — Ed. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


335 


heard  from  daybreak  till  dark.*  The  males  formed  the 
plates  into  the  shapes  of  the  different  utensils  required,  and 
the  females  soldered  and  otherwise  completed  them,  while 
the  younger  branches  of  the  families  presented  them  for  sale 
in  the  neighbourhood.  The  breakfast  of  the  band  consisted 
of  potatoes  and  herrings,  which  the  females  and  children 
had  collected  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  by  begging. 
I  noticed  that  each  family  ate  their  meals  by  themselves, 
wrought  at  their  calling  by  themselves,  and  sold  their  goods 
for  themselves.  The  name  of  the  chief  of  the  gang  was 
Williamson,  who  said  he  travelled  in  the  counties  of  Fife 
and  Perth.  When  I  turned  to  leave  them,  they  heaped  upon 
me  the  most  fulsome  praises,  and  so  loud,  that  I  might  dis¬ 
tinctly  hear  them,  exactly  in  the  manner  as  those  in  Spain, 
mentioned  by  Dr.  Bright. 

I  have,  for  many  months  running,  counted  above  twenty 
Gipsies  depart  out  of  the  town  of  Inverkeithing,  about  ten 
o’clock  in  the  forenoon,  every  day,  on  their  way  to  various 
parts  of  the  country  ;  and  I  have  been  informed  that  from 
twenty  to  thirty  vagrants  lodged  in  this  small  burgh  nightly. 
Some  of  the  bakers  declared  that  the  persons  who  were  the 
worst  to  please  with  hot  rolls  for  breakfast,  were  the  beg¬ 
gars,  or  rather  Gipsies,  who  frequented  the  place.  On  one 
occasion,  I  observed  twelve  females,  without  a  single  male 
among  them,  decamp  out  of  the  town,  all  travelling  in  and 
around  a  cart,  drawn  by  a  shagged  pony.  The  whole  party 
were  neatly  attired,  some  of  the  young  girls  having  trow- 
sers,  with  frills  about  their  ankles;  and  very  few  would 
have  taken  them  for  Gipsies.  A  large  proportion  of  those 
miserable-looking  females,  who  are  accompanied  by  a  num¬ 
ber  of  ragged  children,  and  scatter  themselves  through  the 
streets,  and  beg  from  door  to  door,  are  Gipsies.  I  do  not 
recollect,  distressing  as  the  times  ever  have  been,  of  having 
seen  reduced  Scotch  tradesmen  begging  in  families.  I 
remember  once  seeing  a  man  with  a  white  apron  wrapped 
around  his  waist,  his  coat  off,  an  infant  in  his  arms,  and 

*  Some  of  the  itinerant  Gipsies,  doubtless,  use  their  trades,  in  a  great 
measure,  as  a  cover  for  living  by  means  such  as  society  deems  very  objec¬ 
tionable.  Many  of  them  work  hard  while  they  are  at  it.  as  in  the  above 
instance,  when  “the  clink  of  their  hammers  was  heard  from  daybreak  till 
dark;”  and  as  has  been  said  of  those  in  Tweed-dale — “  however  early  the 
farm  servants  rose  to  their  ordinary  employments,  they  always  found  the 
Tinklers  at  work.” — Ed. 


356 


A  HISTORY  OF  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


two  others  at  his  feet,  accompanied  by  a  dark-looking  fellow 
of  about  twenty,  singing  through  the  town  mentioned.  They 
represented  themselves  as  broken-down  tradesmen,  and  had 
the  appearance  of  having  just  left  their  looms,  to  sing  for 
bread  ;  and  many  half-pence  they  received.  Suspecting 
them  to  be  impostors,  I  observed  their  motions,  and  soon 
saw  them  join  other  vagrants,  outside  of  the  town,  among 
whom  were  females.  The  poor  tradesmen  were  now 
dressed  in  very  substantial  drab  surtouts.  They  were 
nothing  but  a  family  of  Tinklers.  They  were  proceed¬ 
ing,  with  great  speed,  to  the  next  town,  to  practise  their 
impositions  on  the  inhabitants;  and  I  learned  that  they 
had,  in  this  manner,  traversed  several  counties  in  Scotland. 
At  a  subsequent  period,  I  fell  in  with  another  family,  con¬ 
sisting  of  five  children  and  their  parents,  driving  an  ass  and 
its  colt,  near  the  South  Queensferry.  Upon  the  back  of  the 
ass  were  two  stone-hammers,  and  two  reaping-hooks,  placed 
in  such  a  manner  as  any  one,  in  passing,  might  observe 
them.  I  enquired  where  they  had  been.  “  We  have  been 
in  England,  sir,  seeking  work,  but  could  find  none.”  Few 
would  have  taken  them  for  anything  but  country  labourer's  ; 
but  the  truth  was,  they  were  a  family  of  Gipsies,  of  the 
well-known  name  of  Marshall,  from  about  Stranraer.  Their 
implements  of  industry,  so  conspicuously  exhibited  on  the 
back  of  their  ass,  was  all  deception. 

It  is  only  about  twenty-five  years  since  the  Irish  Gipsies, 
in  bands,  made  their  appearance  in  Scotland.  Many  severe 
conflicts  they  had  with  our  Scottish  tribes,  before  they  ob¬ 
tained  a  footing  in  the  country.  But  there  is  a  new  swarm  of 
Irish  Gipsies  at  present  scattered,  in  bands,  over  Scotland, 
all  acquainted  with  the  Gipsy  language.  They  are  a  set  of 
the  most  wretched  creatures  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  A 
horde  of  them,  consisting  of  several  families,  encamped,  at 
one  time,  at  Port  Edgar,  on  the  banks  of  the  Forth,  near 
South  Queensferry.  They  had  three  small  tents,  two  horses, 
and  four  asses,  and  trafficked  in  an  inferior  sort  of  earthen¬ 
ware.  On  the  outside  of  one  of  the  tents,  in  the  open  air, 
with  nothing  but  the  canopy  of  heaven  above  her,  and  the 
greensward  beneath  her,  one  of  the  females,  like  the  deer 
in  the  forest,  brought  forth  a  child,  without  either  the  infant 
or  mother  receiving  the  slightest  injury.*  The  woman, 

*  I  know  another  instance  of  a  Gipsy  having  a  child  in  the  open  fields 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


357 


however,  was  attended  by  a  midwife  from  Queensferry,  who 
said  that  these  Irish  Gipsies  were  so  completely  covered 
with  filth  and  vermin,  that  she  durst  not  enter  one  of  their 
tents,  to  assist  the  female  in  labour.  Several  individuals 
were  attracted  to  the  spot,  by  the  novelty  of  such  an  occur¬ 
rence,  in  so  unusual  a  place  as  the  open  fields.  Immediately 
after  the  child  was  born,  it  was  handed  about  to  every  one 
of  the  band,  that  they  might  look  at  the  “young  donkey,’’ 
as  they  called  it.  In  about  two  days  after  the  accouche¬ 
ment,  the  horde  proceeded  on  their  journey,  as  if  nothing 
had  happened.* 

It  took  place  among  the  rushes  on  Stanhope-haugh,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Tweed.  Ir.  the  forenoon,  she  was  delivered  of  her  child,  without  the 
assistance  of  a  midwife,  and  in  the  afternoon  the  hardy  Gipsy  resumed  her 
journey.  The  infant  was  a  daughter,  named  Mary  Baillie. 

[When  a  Gipsy  woman  is  confined,  it  is  either  in  a  miserable  hut  or  in 
the  open  air,  but  always  easily  and  fortunately.  True  Gipsy-like,  for  want 
of  some  vessel,  a  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground,  which  is  filled  with  cold  water, 
and  the  new-born  child  is  washed  in  it — Grelltnaun,  on  the  Hungarian 
Gipsies.  We  may  readily  believe  that  a  child  coming  into  the  world  under 
the  circumstances  mentioned,  would  have  some  of  the  peculiarities  of  a  wild 
duck.  Mr.  Hoyland  says  that  “on  the  first  introduction  of  a  Gipsy  child 
to  school,  he  flew  like  a  bird  against  the  sides  of  its  cage ;  but  by  a  steady 
care,  and  the  influence  of  the  example  of  the  other  children,  he  soon  be¬ 
came  settled,  and  fell  into  the  ranks.”  It  pleases  the  Gipsies  to  know  that 
their  ancestors  came  into  the  world  “  like  the  deer  in  the  forest,”  and,  when 
put  to  school,  “  flew  like  a  bird  against  the  sides  of  its  cage.” — Ed.] 

*  This  invasion  of  Scotland  by  Irish  Gipsies  has,  of  late  years,  greatly 
altered  the  condition  of  the  nomadic  Scottish  tribes ;  for  this  reason,  that 
as  Scotland,  no  less  than  any  other  country,  can  support  only  a  certain 
number  of  such  people  who  “  live  on  the  road,”  so  many  of  the  Scottish 
Gipsies  have  been  forced  to  betake  themselves  to  other  modes  of  making  a 
living.  To  such  an  extent  has  this  been  the  case,  that  Gipsies,  speaking 
the  Scottish  dialect,  are  in  some  districts  comparatively  rarely  to  be  met 
with,  where  they  were  formerly  numerous.  The  same  cause  may  even  lend 
to  the  extinction  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  as  wanderers;  but  as  the  descen¬ 
dants  of  the  Irish  Gipsies  will  acquire  the  Scottish  vernacular  in  the  second 
generation,  (a  remarkably  short  period  among  the  Gipsies,)  what  will  then 
pass  for  Scottish  Gipsies  will  be  Irish  by  descent.  The  Irish  Gipsies  are 
allowed,  by  their  English  brethren,  to  speak  good  Gipsy,  but  with  a  broad 
and  vulgar  accent ;  so  that  the  language  in  Scotland  will  have  a  still  better 
chance  of  being  preserved. 

England  has  likewise  been  invaded  by  these  Irish  swarms.  The  English 
Gipsies  complain  bitterly  of  them.  “  They  have  no  law  among  them,” 
they  say  ;  “  they  have  fairly  destroyed  Scotland  as  a  country  to  travel  in  ; 
if  they  get  a  loan  of  anything  from  the  country-people,  to  wrap  themselves 
in,  in  the  barn,  at  night,  they  will  decamp  with  it  in  the  morning.  They 
have  brought  a  disgrace  upon  the  very  name  of  Gipsy,  in  Scotland,  and  are 
heartily  disliked  by  both  English  and  Scotch.”  “  There  is  a  family  of  Irish 
Gipsies  living  across  the  road  there,  whom  I  would  not  be  seen  speaking 


858 


A  HISTORY  OF  TEE  GIPSIES. 


But  there  are  Irish  Gipsies  of  a  class  much  superior  to 
the  above,  in  Scotland.  In  1836,  a  very  respectable  and 
■wealthy  inaster-tradesman  informed  me  that  the  whole  of 
the  individuals  employed  in  his  manufactory,  in  Edinburgh, 
were  Irish  Gipsies.* 

The  Gipsies  do  not  appear  to  have  been  altogether  free  from 
the  crime  of  destroying  their  offspring,  when,  by  infirmities, 
they  could  not  be  carried  along  with  them  in  their  wander¬ 
ings,  and  thereby  became  an  encumbrance  to  them.  It  has, 
indeed,  been  often  noticed  that  few,  or  no,  deformed  or 
sickly  individuals  are  to  be  found  among  them.f  The  fol¬ 
lowing  appears  to  be  an  instance  of  something  like  the  prac¬ 
tice  in  question.  A  family  of  Gipsies  were  in  the  habit  of 
calling  periodically,  in  their  peregrinations  over  the  country, 
at  the  house  of  a  lady  in  Argyleshire.  They  frequently 
brought  with  them  a  daughter,  who  was  ailing  of  some  lin¬ 
gering  disorder.  The  lady  noticed  the  sickly  child,  and 
often  spoke  kindly  to  her  parents  about  her  condition.  On 
one  occasion,  when  the  family  arrived  on  her  premises,  she 
missed  the  child,  and  enquired  what  had  become  of  her,  and 
whether  she  had  recovered.  The  father  said  his  daughter 
was  “  a  poor  sickly  thing,  not  worth  carrying  about  with 
them,”  and  that  he  had  “made  away  with  her.”  Whether 
any  notice  was  taken  of  this  murder,  by  the  authorities,  is 


to.”  said  a  superior  English  Gipsy ;  “  I  hate  a  Jew,  and  I  dislike  an  Irish 
Gipsy.”  But  English  and  Scottish  Gipsies  pull  well  together;  and  are  on 
very  friendly  terms  in  America,  and  frequently  visit  each  other.  The 
English  sympathize  with  the  Scottish,  under  the  wrongs  they  have  ex¬ 
perienced  at  the  hands  of  the  Irish,  as  well  as  on  account  of  the  persecutions 
they  experienced  in  Scotland,  so  long  after  such  had  ceased  in  England. 

Twenty-five  years  ago,  there  were  many  Gipsies  to  be  found  between 
Londonderry  and  Belfast,  following  the  style  of  life  described  under  the 
chapter  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale  Gipsies.  Their  names  were  Docherty, 
McCurdy,  McCloskey,  McGuire,  McKay,  Holmes,  Dinsmore,  Morrow,  Allan, 
Stewart,  Lindsay,  Cochrane,  and  Williamson.  Some  of  these  seem  to  have 
migrated  from  Scotland  and  the  North  of  England. — Ed. 

*  In  England,  some  of  the  Irish  Gipsies  send  their  children  to  learn 
trades.  There  are  many  of  such  Irish  mechanic  Gipsies  in  America.  A 
short  time  ago,  a  company  of  them  landed  in  New  York,  and  proceeded  on  to 
Chicago.  Their  occupations,  among  others,  were  those  of  hatters  and 
tailors. — Ed. 

\  They  are  neither  overgrown  giants  nor  diminutive  dwarfs  ;  and  their 
limbs  are  formed  in  the  justest  proportions.  Large  bellies  are  as  uncommon 
among  them  as  humpbacks,  blindness,  or  other  corporeal  defects. — Grill - 
mann  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. — Ed. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


359 


not  mentioned.  The  Gipsies,  however,  are  generally  noted 
for  a  remarkable  attachment  to  their  children.* 

Several  authors  have  brought  a  general  charge  of 
cowardice  against  the  Gipsies,  in  some  of  the  countries  of 
Europe  ;  but  I  never  saw  or  heard  of  any  grounds  for 
bringing  such  a  charge  against  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  On 
the  contrary,  I  always  considered  our  Tinklers  the  very 
reverse  of  cowards.  Heron,  in  his  journey  through  part  of 
Scotland,  before  the  year  1793,  when  speaking  of  the  Gipsies 
in  general,  says  :  “  They  make  excellent  soldiers,  whenever 
the  habit  of  military  discipline  can  be  sufficiently  impressed 
upon  them.”  Several  of  our  Scottish  Gipsies  have  even 
enjoyed  commissions,  as  has  already  been  noticed. t  But  the 

*  The  Ross-shire  Advertiser, for  April,  1842,  says:  “  Gipsy  Recklessness. — 
Last  week,  two  Gipsy  women,  who  were  begging  through  the  country,  each 
with  a  child  on  her  back,  having  got  intoxicated,  took  up  their  lodgings, 
for  the  night,  in  an  old  sawpit,  in  the  parish  of  Logie  Easter.  It  is  sup¬ 
posed  that  they  forgot  to  take  the  children  off  their  backs,  when  going  to 
rest;  for,  in  the  morning,  they  were  found  to  be  both  dead,  having  been 
smothered  by  their  miserable  mothers  lying  upon  them  through  the  night. 
One  of  the  women,  upon  awakening  in  the  morning,  called  to  the  other, 
‘  that  her  baby  was  dead,’  to  which  the  reply  was,  ‘  that  it  could  not  be 
helped.’  Having  dug  a  hole,  they  procured  some  straw,  rolled  up  the 
children  in  it,  put  them  in  the  hole,  and  then  filled  it  up  with  the  earth.” 

f  Though  Gipsies  everywhere,  they  differ,  in  some  respects,  in  the 
various  countries  which  they  inhabit.  For  example,  an  English  Gipsy,  of 
pugilistic  tendencies,  will,  in  a  vapouring  way,  engage  to  thrash  a  dozen  of 
liis  Hungarian  brethren.  The  following  is  the  substance  of  what  Grell- 
mann  says  on  this  feature  of  their  character: 

Sulzer  says  a  Gipsy  requires  to  have  been  a  long  time  in  the  army  before 
he  can  meet  an  enemy’s  balls  with  decent  soldiers’  resolution.  They  have 
often  been  employed  in  military  expeditions,  but  never  as  regular  soldiers. 
In  the  thirty  years’  war,  the  Swedes  had  a  body  of  them  in  the  army;  and 
the  Danes  had  three  companies  of  them  at  the  siege  of  Hamburg,  in  1686. 
They  were  chiefly  employed  in  flying  parties,  to  burn,  plunder,  or  lay 
waste  the  enemy’s  country. 

In  two  Hungarian  regiments,  nearly  every  eighth  man  is  a  Gipsy.  In 
order  to  prevent  either  them  (!)  or  any  others  from  remembering  their  descent, 
it  is  ordered,  by  the  Government,  that  as  soon  as  a  Gipsy  joins  the  regiment, 
he  is  no  longer  to  be  called  by  that  appellation.  Here  he  is  placed  pro¬ 
miscuously  with  other  men.  But  whether  he  would  be  adequate  to  a 
soldier’s  station — unmixed  with  strangers,  in  the  company  of  his  equals 
only — is  very  doubtful.  He  has  every  outward  essential  for  a  soldier, 
yet  his  innate  properties,  his  levity,  and  want  of  foresight,  render  him 
incompatible  for  the  services  of  one,  as  an  instance  may  illustrate. 
Francis  von  Percnyi.  who  commanded  at  the  siege  of  Nagy  Ida,  being 
short  of  men,  was  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  the  Gipsies,  of  whom 
he  collected  a  thousand.  These  he  stationed  behind  the  entrenchments, 
while  he  reserved  his  own  meu  to  garrison  the  citadel.  Tire  Gipsies  sup- 


360 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


military  is  not  a  life  to  their  taste,  as  we  have  already  seen  ; 
for,  rather  than  enter  it,  they  will  submit  to  even  personal 
mutilation.  There  is  even  danger  in  employing  them  in  our 
regiments  at  the  seat  of  war ;  as  I  am  convinced  that,  if 
there  arc  any  Gipsies  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy,  an  im¬ 
proper  intercourse  will  exist  between  them  in  both  armies. 
During  the  last  rebellion  in  Ireland,  the  Gipsy  soldiers  in 
our  regiments  kept  up  an  intimate  and  friendly  correspon¬ 
dence  with  their  brethren  among  the  Irish  rebels.* 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  have  ever  been  distinguished  for 
their  gratitude  to  those  who  treated  them  with  civility  and 
kindness,  during  their  progress  through  the  country.  The 

ported  tlie  attack  with  so  much  resolution,  and  returned  the  fire  of  the 
enemy  with  such  alacrity,  that  the  assailants — little  suspecting  who  were 
the  defendants — were  compelled  to  retreat.  But  the  Gipsies,  elated  with 
victory,  immediately  crept  out  of  their  holes,  and  cried  after  them,  “  Go, 
and  be  hanged,  you  rascals  !  and  thank  God  that  we  had  no  more  powder 
and  shot,  or  we  would  have  played  the  "devil  with  you!”  “What!”  they 
exclaimed,  bearing  in  mind  the  proverb,  “You  can  drive  fifty  Gipsies  be¬ 
fore  you  with  a  wet  rag,”  “  What !  are  you  the  heroes  V”  and,  so  saying,  the 
besiegers  immediately  wheeled  about,  and,  sword  in  hand,  drove  the  black 
crew  back  to  their  works,  entered  them  along  with  them,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  totally  routed  them. — Ed. 

*  A  Gipsy  possesses  all  the  properties  requisite  to  render  him  a  fit  agent 
to  be  employed  in  traitorous  undertakings.  Being  necessitous,  he  is  easily 
corrupted ;  and  his  misconceived  ambition  and  pride  persuade  him  that  he 
thus  becomes  a  person  of  consequence.  He  is,  at  the  same  time,  too  incon¬ 
siderate  to  reflect  on  danger  ;  and,  artful  to  the  greatest  degree,  he  works 
his  way  under  the  most  difficult  circumstances.  Gipsies  have  not  only 
served  much  in  the  capacity  of  spies,  but  their  garb  and  manner  of  life 
have  been  assumed  by  military  and  other  men  for  the  same  purpose. — 
Grellmann  on  the  Hungarian  Gipsies. 

Mr.  Borrow  gives  a  very  interesting  description  of  a  meeting  of  two 
Gipsies,  in  a  battle  between  the  French  and  Spaniards,  in  the  Peninsula, 
in  Bonaparte’s  time.  In  the  midst  of  a  desperate  battle — when  everything 
was  in  confusion — sword  to  sword  and  bayonet  to  bayonet — a  French  sol¬ 
dier  singled  out  one  of  the  enemy,  and,  after  a  severe  personal  contest,  got 
his  knee  on  his  breast,  and  was  about  to  run  his  bayonet  through  him. 
His  cap  at  this  moment  fell  off,  when  his  intended  victim,  catching  his  eye, 
cried,  “  Zincali,  Ziucali  /”  at  which  the  other  shuddered,, relaxed  his  grasp, 
smote  his  forehead,  and  wept.  He  produced  his  flask,  and  poured  wine 
into  his  brother  Gipsy’s  mouth ;  and  they  both  sat  down  on  a  knoll,  while 
all  were  fighting  around.  “  Let  the  dogs  fight,  and  tear  each  other  s 
throats,  till  they  are  all  destroyed:  what,  matters  it  to  us  ?  They  are  not 
of  our  blood,  and  shall  that  be  shed  for  them  ?” 

What  our  author  says  of  there  being  danger  in  employing  Gipsies  in 
time  of  war  has  little  or  no  foundation  ;  for  the  associations  between  those 
in  the  opposite  ranks  would  be  merely  those  of  interest,  friendship,  assist¬ 
ance,  and  scenes  like  the  one  depicted  by  Mr.  Borrow.  The  objection  to 
Gipsies,  ou  such  occasions,  is  as  applicable  to  Jews  and  Freemasons. — Ed. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES 


361 


particulars  of  the  following  instance  of  a  Gipsy's  gratitude 
arc  derived  from  a  respectable  farmer,  to  whom  one  of  the 
tribe  offered  assistance  in  his  pecuniary  distress.  I  was 
well  acquainted  with  both  of  them.  The  occurrence,  which 
took  place  only  about  ten  years  ago,  will  show  that  gratitude 
is  still  a  prominent  feature  in  the  character  of  the  Scottish 
Gipsy. 

The  farmer  became  embarrassed  in  his  circumstances,  in 
the  spring  of  the  year,  when  an  ill-natured  creditor,  for  a 
small  sum,  put  him  in  jail,  with  a  design  to  extort  payment 
of  the  debt  from  his  relatives.  The  farmer  had  always  al¬ 
lowed  a  Gipsy  chief,  of  the  name  of - ,  with  his  family, 

to  take  up  his  quarters  on  his  premises,  whenever  the  horde 
came  to  the  neighbourhood.  The  Gipsy’s  horse  received  the 
same  provender  as  the  farmer’s  horses,  and  himself  and  fam¬ 
ily  the  same  victuals  as  the  farmer’s  servants.  So  sure  was 
the  Gipsy  of  his  lodgings,  that  he  seldom  needed  to  ask  per¬ 
mission  to  stay  all  night  on  the  farm,  when  he  arrived.  On 
learning  that  the  farmer  was  in  jail,  he  immediately  went  to 
see  him.  When  he  called,  the  jailer  laughed  at  him,  and, 
for  long,  would  not  intimate  to  the  farmer  that  he  wished  to 
see  him.  With  tears  in  his  eyes,  the  Gipsy  then  told  him 
he  “  would  be  into  the  jail,  and  see  the  honest  man,  whether 
he  would  or  not.”  At  last,  an  hour  was  fixed  when  ho 
would  be  allowed  to  enter  the  prison.  When  the  time  ar¬ 
rived,  the  Gipsy  made  his  appearance,  with  a  quantity  of 
liquor  in  his  hand,  for  his  friend  the  farmer.  “  Weel,  man,” 
said  he  to  the  turnkey,  ‘‘is  this  your  hour,  now?”  being  dis¬ 
pleased  at  the  delay  which  had  taken  place.  The  jailer 
again  said  to  him  that  he  was  surely  joking,  and  still  re¬ 
fused  him  admittance.  “  Joking,  man  ?”  exclaimed  the 
Gipsy,  with  the  tears  again  glistening  in  his  dark  eyes,  “  I 
am  not  joking,  for  into  this  prison  I  shall  be  ;  and  if  it  is  not 
by  the  door,  it  shall  be  by  another  way.”  Observing  the 
determined  Gipsy  quite  serious,  the  jailer  at  last  allowed 
him  to  see  the  object  of  his  search.  The  moment  he  saw  the 
farmer,  he  took  hold  of  both  his  hands,  and,  immediately 
throwing  his  arms  around  him,  burst  into  tears,  and  was  for 
some  time  so  overcome  by  grief,  that  he  could  not  give  utter¬ 
ance  to  his  feelings.  Recovering  himself,  he  enquired  if  it 
was  the  laird  that  had  put  him  in  prison  ;  but  on  being  told 
it  was  a  writer,  one  of  his  creditors,  the  Gipsy  exclaimed, 
16 


362 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


“  They  are  a  d - d  crew,  tliae  writers ,*  and  the  lairds  are 

little  better.”  With  much  feeling,  he  now  said  to  his  friend, 
“  Your  father,  honest  man,  was  aye  good  to  my  horse,  and 
your  mother,  poor  body,  was  aye  kind  to  me,  when  I  came 
to  the  farm.  I  was  aye  treated  like  one  of  their  own  house¬ 
hold,  and  I  can  never  forget  their  kindness.  Many  a  night’s 
quarters  1  received  from  them,  when  others  would  not  suffer 
me  to  approach  their  doors.”  The  grateful  Gipsy  now  of¬ 
fered  the  farmer  fifty  pounds,  to  relieve  him  from  prison. 
“  We  are,”  said  he,  “  not  so  poor  as  folk  think  we  are  ;”  and, 
putting  his  hand  into  his  pocket,  he  added,  “  Here  is  part 
of  the  money,  which  you  will  accept ;  and  if  fifty  pounds 
will  not  do,  i  will  sell  all  that  I  have  in  the  world,  horses 
and  all,  to  get  you  out  of  this  place.”  “  Oh,  my  bonnie  man,” 
continued  the  Gipsy,  “  had  I  you  in  my  camp,  at  the  back 
of  the  dyke,  I  would  be  a  happy  man.  You  would  be  far 
better  there  than  in  this  hole.”  The  farmer  thanked  him 
for  his  kind  offer,  but  declined  to  accept  it.  “We  are,”  re¬ 
sumed  the  Gipsy,  “  looked  upon  as  savages,  but  we  have  our 
feelings,  like  other  people,  and  never  forget  our  friends  and 
benefactors.  Kind,  indeed,  have  your  relatives  been  to  me, 
and  all  I  have  in  this  world  is  at  your  service.”  When  the 
Gipsy  found  that  his  offer  was  not  accepted,  he  insisted  that 
the  farmer  would  allow  him  to  supply  him,  from  time  to 
time,  with  pocket  money,  in  case  he  should,  during  his  con¬ 
finement,  be  in  want  of  the  necessaries  of  life.  Before  leav¬ 
ing  the  prison,  the  farmer  asked  the  Gipsy  to  take  a  cup  of 
tea  with  him  ;  but  long  the  Gipsy  modestly  refused  to  eat 
with  him,  saying,  “  I  am  a  black  thief-looking  deevil,  to  sit 
down  and  eat  in  your  company  ;  but  I  will  do  it,  this  day, 
for  your  sake,  since  you  ask  it  of  me.”  The  Gipsy’s  wife, 
with  all  her  family,  also  insisted  upon  being  allowed  to  see 
the  farmer  in  prison.f 

*  A  writer  in  Scotland  corresponds  with  an  attorney  in  England.  It  is 
interesting  to  notice  the  opinion  which  the  Gipsy  entertained  of  the  writers. 
Possibly  he  had  been  a  good  deal  worried  by  them,  in  connection  with  the 
conduct  of  some  of  his  folk. — Ed. 

f  There  is  something  singularly  inconsistent  in  the  mind  of  the  Gipsies. 
They  pride  themselves,  to  an  exi  raordinary  degree,  in  their  race  and  lan¬ 
guage  ;  at  the  same  time,  they  are  extremely-  sensitive  to  the  prejudice  that 
exists  against  them.  “  We  feel.”  say  they,  “  that  every  other  creature 
despises  us,  and  would  crush  us  out  of  existence,  if  it  could  be  done.  No 
doubt,  there  are  tilings  which  many-  of  t he  Gipsies  do  not  hold  to  be  a 
shame,  that  others  do;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  they-  hold  some  things  to 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


363 


This  interview  took  place  in  presence  of  several  persons, 
who  were  surprised  at  the  gratitude  and  manner  of  the  de¬ 
termined  Gipsy.  It  is  proper  to  mention  that  he  is  con¬ 
sidered  a  very  honest  man,  and  is  a  protection  to  the  prop¬ 
erty  of  the  country-people,  wherever  he  is  quartered.  He 
sells  earthen-ware,  through  the  country,  and  has,  sometimes, 
several  horses  in  his  possession,  more  for  pleasure  than 
profit,  some  of  which  the  farmers  graze  for  nothing,  as  he  is 
a  great  favourite  with  those  who  are  intimately  acquainted 
with  him.  lie  is  about  fifty  years  of  age,  about  six  feet  in 
height,  is  spare  made,  has  small  black  eyes,  and  a  swarthy 
complexion.  He  is  styled  King  of  the  Gipsies,  but  the  coun¬ 
try-people  call  him  “  Terrible,”  for  a  by-name.  It  was  said 
his  mother  was  a  witch,  and  many  of  the  simple,  ignorant 
people,  in  the  country,  actually  believed  she  was  one.  That 

be  a  shame  which  others  do  not.  They  have  many  good  points.  They  are 
kind  to  their  own  people,  and  will  feed  and  clothe  them,  if  it  is  in  lheir 
power;  and  they  will  not  molest  others  who  treat  them  civilly.  They  are 
somewhat  like  the  wild  American  Indians:  they  even  go  so  far  as  to  des¬ 
pise  their  own  people  who  will  willingly  conform  to  the  ways  of  the  people 
among  whom  they  live,  even  to  putting  their  heads  under  a  roof.  But, 
alas  1  a  hard  necessity  renders  it  unavoidable ;  a  necessity  of  two  kinds — 
that  of  making  a  living  under  the  circumstances  in  which  they  find  them¬ 
selves  placed,  and  the  impossibility  of  enforcing  their  laws  among  them¬ 
selves.  Let  them  do  what  they  may,  live  as  they  may,  believe  what  they 
may,  they  are  looked  upon  as  everything  that  is  bad.  Yet  they  are  a 
people,  an  ancient  and  mysterious  people,  that  have  been  scattered  by  the 
will  of  Providence  over  the  whole  earth.” 

It  is  to  escape  this  dreadful  prejudice  that  all  Gipsies,  excepting  those 
who  avowedly  live  and  profess  themselves  Gipsies,  will  hide  their  race,  if 
they  can,  and  particularly  so,  in  the  case  of  those  who  fairly  leave  the  tent, 
conform  to  the  ordinary  ways  of  society’,  and  engage  in  any  of  its  various 
callings.  While  being  convoyed  by  the  son  of  an  English  Gipsy,  whose 
family  I  had  been  visiting,  at  their  house,  where  I  had  heard  them  freely 
speak  of  themselves  as  Gipsies,  and  converse  in  Gipsy,  1  said,  in  quite  a 
pleasant  tone,  “Ah,  my  little  man,  and  you  are  a  young  Gipsy? — Eh, 
what’s  the  matter?”  “  I  don’t  wish  to  be  known  to  the  people  as  a  Gipsy.” 
Ilia  father,  on  another  occasion,  said,  “We  are  not  ashamed  to  say  to  a 
friend  that  we  are  Gipsies;  but  my  children  don’t  like  people  to  be  crying 
after  them,  ‘  Look  at  the  Gipsies  !’  ”  And  yet  this  family,  like  all  Gipsies, 
were  strongly  attached  to  their  race  and  language.  It  was  pitiful  to  think 
that  there  was  so  much  rcasou  for  them  to  make  such  a  complaint.  On  one 
occasion,  I  was  asked,  “  If  you  would  not  deem  it  presumptuous,  might  we 
ask  you  to  take  a  bite  with  us?”  “  Eat  with  you?  Why  not?’  I  replied. 
“  What  will  your  people  think,  if  they  knew  that  you  had  been  eating  with 
us  ?  You  will  lose  caste.”  This  was  said  in  a  serious  manner,  but  slightly 
tinged  with  irony.  Bless  me,  I  thought,  are  all  our  Scottish  Gipsies,  of 
high  and  low  degree,  afraid  that  the  ordinary  natives  would  not  even  eat 
with  them,  if  they  knew  them  to  be  Gipsies  ? — Ed. 


364 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


lier  son  believed  she  possessed  supernatural  power,  will  ap> 
pear  from  the  following  fact :  As  some  one  was  lamenting 
the  hard  case  of  the  fanner  remaining  in  prison,  the  Gipsy 
gravely  said,  “  Had  my  mother  been  able  to  go  to  the  jail, 
to  see  the  honest  man,  she  possessed  the  power  to  set  him 
free.” 

That  numbers  of  our  Gipsies  attend  the  church,  and  pub¬ 
licly  profess  Christianity,  and  get  their  children  baptized,  is 
certain  ;  and  that  many  of  the  male  heads  of  principal  fam¬ 
ilies  have  the  appearance  and  reputation  of  great  honesty 
of  character,  is  also  certain.  Yet  their  wives  and  other 
members  of  their  families  are,  in  general,  little  better  than 
professed  thieves ;  and  are  secretly  countenanced  and  en¬ 
couraged  in  their  practices  by  many  of  those  very  chief 
males,  who  designedly  keep  up  an  outward  show  of  integrity, 
for  the  purpose  of  deception,  and  of  affording  their  plunder¬ 
ing  friends  protection.  When  the  head  of  the  family  is  be¬ 
lieved  to  be  an  honest  man,  it  excites  a  feeling  of  sympathy 
for  his  tribe  on  his  account,  and  it  enables  him  to  step  for¬ 
ward,  with  more  freedom,  to  protect  his  kindred,  when  they 
happen  to  get  into  scrapes.  I  am  convinced,  could  the  fact 
be  ascertained,  that  many  of  the  offenders  who  are  daily 
brought  before  our  courts  of  justice  are  Gipsies,  though 
their  external  appearance  does  not  indicate  them  to  be  of 
that  race. 

With  regard  to  the  education  of  our  Scottish  Gipsies,  I 
am  convinced  that  very  few  of  them  receive  any  education 
at  all ;  except  some  of  those  among  the  superior  classes, 
who  have  property  in  houses,  and  permanent  residences.  A 
Gipsy,  of  some  property,  who  gave  one  of  her  sons  a  good 
education,  declared  that  the  young  man  was  entirely  spoiled.* 
It  appears,  however,  that  the  males  of  the  Yetholm  colony 
received  such  an  education  as  is  commonly  given  to  the 
working  classes  ;  but  it  is  supposed  there  is  scarcely  such  a 
thing  as  a  female  Gipsy  who  has  been  educated.  There 
are,  however,  instances  to  the  contrary  ;  and  I  know  one 

*  It  is  well  to  notice  the  fact,  that  by  giving  a  Gipsy  child  a  good  educa¬ 
tion,  it  became  “entirely  spoiled.”  It  would  be  well  if  we  could  “  spoil” 
all  the  Gipsies.  A  thoroughly-spoiled  Gipsy  mates  a  very  good  naan,  but 
leaves  him  a  Gipsy  notwithstanding.  A  “  thorough  Gipsy”  has  two  mean¬ 
ings  ;  one  strongly  attached  to  the  tribe,  and  its  original  habits,  or  one 
without,  these  original  habits.  There  are  a  good  many  “  spoiled”  Gipsies, 
male  a1  d  female,  in  Scotland. — El>. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


3G5 


female  at  least,  who  can  handle  her  pen  with  some  dex¬ 
terity.* 

As  to  their  religious  sentiments,  I  am  inclined  to  think 
that  the  greater  part  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  are  quite  indif¬ 
ferent  on  the  subject.  Numbers  of  them  certainly  attend 
church,  occasionally,  when  at  home,  in  their  winter  quarters  ; 
but  not  one  of  them  will  enter  its  door  when  travelling 
through  the  country.f  On  Sundays,  while  resting  themselves 
by  the  side  of  the  public  roads,  the  females  employ  them¬ 
selves  in  washing  and  sewing  their  apparel,  without  any  re¬ 
gal'd  for  that  sacred  day.  It  appears  to  me  that  a  large 
proportion  of  them  comply  with  our  customs  and  forms  of 
worship,  more  for  the  purpose  of  concealing  their  tribe  and 
practices,  than  from  any  serious  belief  in  the  doctrines  of 
Christianity.  I  recollect,  however,  of  once  conversing  with 
an  aged  man  who  professed  much  apparent  zeal  in  religious 
matters  ;  and  I  mind  well  that  he  stoutly  maintained,  in 
opposition  to  Calvin’s  ideas  on  the  subject  of  free  grace, 
that  everything  depended  upon  our  own  works.  “  By  my 
works  in  this  life,”  said  he,  “I  must  stand,  or  fall,  in  the 
world  to  come.”  This  very  man  acknowledged  to  me  that 
the  Gipsies  were  a  tribe  of  thieves.  But  almost  all  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  when  the  subject  of  religion  is  mentioned  to  them,  affect 
to  be  very  pious ;  speak  of  the  goodness  of  God  to  them, 

*  The  education  and  acquirements  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  according  to 
Mr.  Borrow,  are,  on  the  whole,  not  inferior  to  those  of  the  lower  classes 
of  the  Spaniards  ;  some  of  the  young  men  being  able  to  read  and  write  in 
a  manner  by  no  means  contemptible;  but  such  never  occurs  among  the  fe¬ 
males.  Neglecting  females,  in  the  matter  of  education,  is  quite  in  keeping 
with  the  Oriental  origin  of  the  Gipsies.  The  same  feature  is  observable 
among  the  Jews;  and  the  Talmud  bears  heavily  upon  Jewish  women. 
Every  Jew  says,  in  his  morning  prayer,  “  Blessed  art  thou,  <)  Lord,  our 
God,  King  of  the  Universe,  who  hast  not  made  me  a  woman  !”  And  the 
woman  returns  thanks  for  having  been  “  created  according  to  God’s  will.” 
— Ld. 

t  The  ostensible  reason  which  the  Gipsy  gives  for  not  attending  church, 
when  travelling,  is  to  prevent  himself  being  ridiculed  by  the  people.  If 
he  enters  a  place  of  worship,  he  makes  the  old  people  stare,  and  frightens 
the  children.  On  returning  from  church,  a  child  will  exclaim,  “  Mother, 
mother,  there  was  a  Tinkler  at  the  kirk,  to-day.” — “  A  what  V  a  Tinkler  at 
the  kirk?  What  could  have  possessed  him  to  go  there?” 

Gipsies  are  extremely  sensitive  to  the  feeling  in  question.  A  short  time 

ago,  one  of  them  entered - ,  in  the  State  of - ,  with  a  “  shears  to 

grind,”  having  a  small  bell  attached.  Some  bar  room  gentry  assembled 
around  him,  and  saluted  him  with.  “Oh,  oh,  a  Gipsy  in  a  new  rig!”  So 
keenly  did  he  feel  the  insult,  that  he  at  once  left  the  village. — Ed. 


366 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


with  much  apparent  sincerity  ;  lament  the  want  of  educa¬ 
tion  ;  and  reprobate,  in  strong  terms,  every  act  of  immoral¬ 
ity.  This,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  is,  in  general,  all  hypocrisy 
and  deception.  There  is  not  a  better  test,  in  a  general  way, 
for  discovering  who  are  Gipsies,  than  the  expression  of  “  God 
bless  you,”  which  is  constantly  in  the  mouth  of  every  fe¬ 
male.* 

With  regard  to  the  general  politics  of  the  Scottish  Gip¬ 
sies,  if  they  entertain  any  political  sentiments  at  all,  I  am 
convinced  they  are  monarchical  ;  and  that,  were  any  revo¬ 
lutionary  convulsion  to  loosen  the  bonds  of  society,  and 
separate  the  lower  from  the  higher  classes,  they  would  take 
to  the  side  of  the  superior  portion  of  the  community.  They 
have,  at  all  times,  heartily  despised  the  peasantry,  and  been 
disposed  to  treat  menials  witli  great  contempt,  though,  at 
the  very  moment,  they  were  begging  at  the  doors  of  their 
masters.  In  the  few  instances  which  have  come  to  my 
knowledge,  of  Scottish  Gipsies  forming  matrimonial  connex- 

*  According  to  Grellmann,  the  Gipsies  did  not  bring  any  particular  reli¬ 
gion  with  them  from  their  own  country,  but  have  regulated  it  according  to 
those  of  the  countries  in  which  they  have  lived.  They  suffer  themselves  to 
be  baptized  among  Christians,  and  circumcised  among  Mahommedans.  They 
are  Greeks  with  Greeks,  Catholics  with  Catholics,  Protestants  with  Protes¬ 
tants,  and  as  inconstant  in  their  creed  as  their  place  of  residence.  They 
suffer  their  children  to  be  several  times  baptized.  To-day,  they  receive  the 
sacrament  as  a  Lutheran  ;  next  Sunday,  as  a  Catholic  ;  and,  perhaps  before 
the  end  of  the  week,  in  the  Reformed  Church.  The  greater  part  of  them 
do  not  go  so  far  as  this,  but  live  without  any  religion  at  all,  and  worse  than 
heathens.  So  thoroughly  indifferent  are  they  in  this  respect,  as  to  have 
given  rise  to  the  adage,  “  The  Gipsy’s  church  was  built  of  bacon,  and  the 
dogs  ate  it.”  So  perfectly  convinced  are  the  Turks  of  the  insincerity  of 
the  Gipsy  in  matters  of  religion,  that,  although  a  Jew,  by  becoming  a 
Mahommedan,  is  freed  from  the  payment  of  the  poll-tax,  a  Gipsy— at  least  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Constantinople — is  not,  even  although  his  ancestors, 
for  centuries,  had  been  Mahommedans,  or  he  himself  should  actually  have 
made  a  pilgrimage  to  Mecca.  His  only  privilege  is  to  wear  a  white  turban, 
which  is  denied  to  unbelieving  Jews  and  Gipsies. 

Mr.  Borrow  says,  that  when  the  female  Gipsies,  who  sing  in  the  choirs 
of  Moscow,  were  questioned,  in  their  own  language,  about  their  externally 
professing  the  Greek  religion,  they  laughed,  and  said  it  was  only  to  please 
the  Russians. 

The  same  author  mentions  an  instance  in  which  he  preached  to  them  ; 
taking,  for  his  text,  the  situation  of  the  flebrews  in  Egypt,  and  drawing  a 
comparison  between  it  and  theirs  in  Spain.  Warming  with  his  subject,  he 
spoke  of  the  power  of  Godin  preserving  both,  as  a  distinct  people,  in  the 
world,  to  this  day.  On  concluding,  lie  looked  around  to  see  what  impres¬ 
sion  he  had  made  upon  them,  but  the  only  response  he  cot  from  them  all 
was — a  squint  of  the  eye  ! — Ed. 


MODERN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


3C7 


ions  with  individuals  of  the  community,  those  individuals 
were  not  of  the  working  or  lower  classes  of  society.* 

I  believe  there  are  Gipsies,  in  more  or  less  numbers,  in 
almost  every  town  in  Scotland,  permanent  as  well  as  peri¬ 
odical  residenters.  In  many  of  the  villages  there  are  also 
Gipsy  inhabitants.  In  Mid-Lothian  there  are  great  numbers 
of  them,  who  have  houses,  in  which  they  reside  permanently, 
but  a  portion  of  them  travel  in  other  districts,  during  the 
summer  season.  I  have  been  at  no  ordinary  pains  and  trou¬ 
ble  in  making  enquiries  regarding  the  number  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  and  the  result  of  my  numerous  investigations  induces 
me  to  believe  that  there  are  about  five  thousand  of  them  in 
Scotland,  at  the  present  day.  Indeed,  some  of  the  Gipsies 
themselves  entertain  the  same  opinion,  and  they  must  cer¬ 
tainly  be  allowed  to  have  some  idea  of  the  number  of  their 
own  fraternity .f 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  civilization  and  improvement  of 
the  body,  generally,  would  be  a  work  of  great  difficulty.  I 
would  be  apt  to  give  nearly  the  same  answer  which  a  Hun¬ 
garian  nobleman  gave  to  Dr.  Bright,  when  that  traveller 
asked  him  if  he  could  not  devise  a  plan  for  bettering  the 
condition  of  the  race  in  Hungary.  The  nobleman  said  he 
knew  of  no  manner  of  improving  the  Gipsies.^  The  best 
plan  yet  proposed  for  improving  the  race  appears  to  be 

*  What  our  author  says  of  the  politics  of  the  Gipsies  is  rather  more  ap¬ 
plicable  to  their  ideas  of  their  social  position.  Being  a  small  body  in 
comparison  with  the  general  population  of  the  country,  they  entertain  a 
very  exclusive  and,  consequently,  a  very  aristocratic  idea  of  themselves, 
whatever  others  may  think  of  them  ;  and  therefore  scorn  the  prejudice  of 
the  very  lowest  order  of  the  common  natives. — En. 

f  Before  the  reformation  of  our  criminal  law,  many  of  the  male  Gipsies 
perished  on  the  gallows,  but  now,  the  greatest  punishment  they  meet  with 
is  banishment,  or  a  short  imprisonment,  for  “  sorning,  pickery,  and  little 
thieving.”  Few  of  them  are  now  “  married  to  the  gallows  tree,”  in  the  man¬ 
ner  of  Graham,  as  described  under  the  head  of  Fifeshire  Gipsies.  Owing  to 
their,  (the  more  original  kind  especially,)  all  marrying  very  young,  and 
having  very  large  families,  their  number  cannot  fail  to  encrease,  under  the 
present  laws,  in  a  ratio  far  beyond  that  of  our  own  population.  Instead  of 
there  being  only  5,000  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  there  are,  as  I  have  already  said, 
nearer  100,000,  for  reasons  to  be  given  in  my  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. 
— Ed. 

t  Speaking  of  the  attempted  civilization  of  the  Gipsies,  by  the  Empress 
Maria  Theresa,  Grellmann  says,  “  A  boy,  (for  you  must  leave  the  old  stock 
alone,)  would  frequently  seem  in  the  most  promising  train  to  civilization ; 
on  a  sudden,  his  wild  nature  would  appear,  a  relapse  follow,  and  he  become 
a  perfect  Gipsy  again.’ 


368 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  one  suggested  by  the  Rev.  James  Crabb,  of  Southamp¬ 
ton,  and  the  Rev.  John  Baird,  of  Yetholm.*  One  of  the  first 

“  Curate — Could  you  not,  by  degrees,  bring  yourself  to  a  more  settled 
mode  of  life  ? 

“  Gipsy. — I  would  not  tell  you  a  lie,  sir;  I  really  think  I  could  not,  hav¬ 
ing  beeu  brought  up  to  it  from  a  child.” — Hoyland  on  the  Enplish  Gipsies. 

The  restless  desire  which  the  more  original  kind  of  Gipsies,  and  those 
more  recently  from  the  tent,  have  for  moving  about,  is  generally  gratified 
in  some  way  or  other.  The  poorer  class  will  send  their  wives  and  young 
ones  to  the  ‘‘grass,”  in  company  with  the  nomadic  portion,  or  to  the 
streets  in  towns.  In  either  case,  they  have  no  great  occasion  to  feel  un¬ 
easy  about  t  heir  support ;  for  she  would  be  a  poor  wife  indeed,  if  she  could 
not  forage  for  herself  and  “  weary  bairns.”  Among  other  things,  she  can 
hiio  herself  to  assist  in  disposing  of  the  wares  made  by  another  Gipsy.  Her 
husband  will  then  work  at  his  calling,  or  go  on  the  tramp,  like  some  of  our 
ordinary  mechanics. 

The  feeling  which  mankind  in  general  have  for  the  sweets  of  the  country, 
and  the  longing  which  so  many  of  us  have  to  end  our  days  in  the  midst  of 
them,  amount  almost  to  a  mania  with  these  Gipsies.  Frequently  will  Gip¬ 
sies,  in  England,  after  spending  the  best  part  of  their  lives  in  a  settled  occu¬ 
pation,  again  take  to  the  tent ;  while  others  of  them,  on  arrival  in  America, 
will  buy  themselves  places,  and  live  on  them  till  seized  with  the  travelling 
epidemic,  communicated  by  a  roving  company  of  their  tribe  accidentally 
arriving  in  their  neighbourhood.  Some  of  the  more  recently  settled  class 
of  Gipsies,  whose  occupations  do  not  easily  admit  of  their  enjoying  the 
pleasure  of  a  country  or  travelling  life,  show  a  great  partiality  to  their 
wandering  brethren,  however  poor,  with  whom  they  are  on  terms  of 
intimacy,  and  especially  if  they  happen  to  be  related.  Their  children,  from 
hearing  their  parents  speak  of  the  “  good  old  times” — the  “  golden  age”  of 
the  Gipsies — when  they  could  wander  hither  and  thither,  with  little  moles¬ 
tation,  and  live,  in  a  measure,  at  free-quarters,  wherever  they  went,  grow 
impatient  under  the  restraint  which  society  has  thrown  around  them ;  and 
vent  their  feelings  in  abusing  that  same  society,  and  all  the  members 
thereof.  They  envy  the  lot  of  these  “  countrp- cousins.”  Meetings  of  that 
kind  render  these  Gipsie-,  (old  as  well  as  young,)  irritable,  discontented, 
and  gloomy :  they  feel  like  “  birds  in  a  cage,”  as  a  Gipsy  expressed  it.  Not 
unfrequently  will  a  young  town  Gipsy  travel  in  the  company  of  these 
country  relatives,  dressed  a  la  Tinklaire,  as  a  relief  to  the  discontentment 
which  a  restrained  and  pent-up  life  creates  within  him.  At  other  times, 
his  parents  will  know  nothing  of  his  movements,  beyond  his  coming  home 
to  “  roost”  at  night. 

The  nomadic  class  take  to  winter-quarters  in  some  village,  towards  the 
close  of  the  year,  and  fret  themselves  all  day  long,  till,  on  the  return  of 
spring,  they  can  sav,  “  To  your  tents,  O  Gipsies  !”  There  is  as  little  direct 
relation  existing  between  the  tent  and  the  long-settled  Gipsies,  as  there  is 
between  it  and  ordinary  Scotch  people.  But  there  is  that  tribal  or  national 
association  connected  with  it,  that  is  inseparable  from  the  feelings  of  a 
Gipsy,  however  high  may  be  the  position  in  life  to  which  he  may  have 
risen. — Ed. 

*  '1  he  Fourteenth  Annual  Festival  of  the  Rev.  James  Crabb’s  Association, 
for  civilizing  and  teaching  the  principles  of  Christianity  to  the  Gipsies  in 
England,  was  held  on  the  25th  December,  1841.  At  that  time,  twenty 


MODE  UN  SCOTTISH  GIPSIES. 


369 


steps,  however,  should  be  a  complete  publicity  to  their  lan¬ 
guage,  if  that  was  possible  ;  and  encouragement  held  out  to 
them  to  speak  it  openly,  without  fear  or  reproach.  Their 
secret  speech  is  a  strong  bond  of  union  among  them,  and 
forms,  as  it  were,  a  wall  of  separation  between  them  and 
the  other  inhabitants  of  the  country. 

Many  of  the  Gipsies,  following  the  various  occupations 
enumerated,  are  not  now  to  be  distinguished  from  others  of 
the  community,  except  by  the  most  minute  observation  ;  yet 
they  appear  a  distinct  and  separate  people  :  seldom  contract¬ 
ing  marriage  out  of  their  own  tribe.*  A  tradesman  of 
Gipsy  blood  will  sooner  give  his  hand  to  a  lady’s  maid  of 
his  own  race,  than  marry  the  highest  female  in  the  land  ; 
while  the  Gipsy  lady’s  maid  will  take  a  Gipsy  shoemaker, 
in  preference  to  any  one  out  of  her  tribe.  A  Gipsy  woman 
will  far  rather  prefer,  in  marriage,  a  man  of  her  own  blood 
who  has  escaped  the  gallows,  to  the  most  industrious  and 
best-behaved  tradesman  in  the  kingdom.  Like  the  Jews, 
almost  all  those  in  good  circumstances  marry  among  them¬ 
selves,  and,  I  believe,  employ  their  poorer  brethren  as  ser¬ 
vants.  I  have  known  Gipsies  most  solemnly  declare,  that 


Gipsy  youths  were  attending'  his  school.  He  was  very  sanguine  of  ulti¬ 
mately  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  British  Gipsies. 

At  Yetholm,  in  the  same  year,  after  the  Rev.  John  Baird’s  school  had 
been  in  existence  about  two  years,  there  were  about  forty  Gipsy  children 
receiving  instruction.  When  they  were  educated,  they  were  hired  as  ser¬ 
vants  to  families,  or  bound  apprentices  to  different  trades. 

[I  will  offer  some  remarks  on  the  improvement  of  the  Gipsies,  in  the  Dis¬ 
quisition  on  the  Gipsies. — Ed.] 

*  It  is  a  difficult  matter  to  tell  some  of  the  settled  Scottish  Gipsies.  In 
searching  for  them,  some  regard  must  be  had  to  the  employment  of  the  in¬ 
dividual,  his  associations,  and  his  isolation  from  the  community  generally, 
beyond  what  is  necessary  in  following  his  calling  and  out  door  relations,  as 
contrasted  with  his  hospitality  to  strangers  from  a  distance  ;  a  close  scru¬ 
tiny  of  the  habits  of  himself  and  his  numerous  motley  visitors  ;  the  rough- 
and-tumble  way  in  which  he  sometimes  lives ;  his  attachment  to  animals, 
such  as  horses,  asses,  dogs,  cats,  birds,  or  pets  of  any  kind  ;  these,  and 
other  relative  circumstances,  go  a  great  way  to  enable  one  to  pounce  upon 
some  of  them.  But  the  use  of  their  language,  and  the  effect  it  has  upon 
them,  (barring  their  responding  to  it,)  is,  at  the  present  stage  of  their  his¬ 
tory,  the  only  satisfactory  test.  Scottish  Gipsy  families  will  genet  ally  bo 
found  to  be  all  dark  in  their  appearance,  or  all  very  fair  or  reddish,  or 
partly  very  fair,  and  partly  very  dark,  and  sometimes  dark  or  fair  nonde¬ 
script.  Many  of  the  residentary  class  of  mechanic  Gipsies  are  difficult 
of  detection  ;  so  are  the  better  classes,  generally,  if  it  is  long  since  their 
ancestors  left  the  tent. — Ed. 


370 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 


no  consideration  would  induce  them  to  marry  out  of  their 
own  tribe  ;  and  I  am  informed,  and  convinced,  that  almost 
every  one  of  them  marries  in  that  way.  One  of  them  stated 
to  me  that,  let  them  be  in  whatever  situation  of  life  they 
may,  they  all  “  stick  to  each  other.” 


A  DISQUISITION  ON  THE  PAST,  PRESENT,  AND 
FUTURE  OF  GIPSYDOM. 


There  is  nothing  hid  that  shall  not  be  revealed.” 


In  giving  an  account  of  the  Gipsies,  the  subject  would  be 
very  incomplete,  were  not  something  said  about  the  manner 
in  which  they  have  drawn  into  their  body  the  blood  of  other 
people,  and  the  way  in  which  the  race  is  perpetuated  ;  and 
a  description  given  of  their  present  condition,  and  future 
prospects,  particularly  as  our  author  has  overlooked  some 
important  points  connected  with  their  history,  which  I  will 
endeavour  to  furnish.  One  of  these  important  points  is, 
that  lie  has  confined  his  description  of  the  present  genera¬ 
tion  of  settled  Gipsies  to  the  descendants  of  those  who  left 
the  tent  subsequently  to  the  commencement  of  the  French  war, 
to  the  exclusion  of  those  who  settled  long  anterior  to  that 
time.  It  is  also  necessary  to  treat  the  subject  abstractly — to 
throw  it  into  principles,  to  give  the  philosophy  of  it — to  en¬ 
sure  the  better  understanding,  and  perpetuate  the  knowledge 
of  it,  ainid  the  shifting  objects  that  present  themselves  to 
the  eye  of  the  world,  and  even  of  the  people  described. 

Gipsydom  may,  in  a  word,  be  said  to  be  literally  a  sealed 
book,  a  terra  incognita,  to  mankind  in  general.  The  Gipsies 
arrived  in  Europe  a  strange  race  ;  strange  in  their  origin, 
appearance,  habits  and  disposition.  Supposing  that  their 
habits  had  never  led  them  to  interfere  with  the  property  of 
others,  or  obtain  money  by  any  objectionable  way,  but  that 
they  had  confined  their  calling  to  tinkering,  making  and 
selling  w'arcs,  trading,  and  such  like,  they  would,  in  all  prob¬ 
ability,  still  have  remained  a  caste  in  the  community,  with 
a  strong  feeling  of  sympathy  for  those  living  in  other  coun¬ 
tries,  in  consequence  of  the  singularity  of  their  origin  and 
development,  as  distinguished  from  those  of  the  other  inhab¬ 
itants,  their  language  and  that  degree  of  prejudice  which 

(371) 


372 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


most  nations  have  for  foreigners  settling  among  them  and 
particularly  so  in  the  case  of  a  people  so  different  in  their 
appearance  and  mode  of  life  as  were  the  Gipsies  from  those 
among  whom  they  settled.  That  may  especially  be  said  of 
tented  Gipsies,  and  even  of  those  who,  from  time  to  time, 
would  be  forced  to  leave  the  tent,  and  settle  in  towns,  or 
live  as  tramps ,  as  distinguished  from  tented  Gipsies.  The 
simple  idea  of  their  origin  and  descent,  tribe  and  language, 
transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  being  so  different 
from  those  of  the  people  among  whom  they  lived,  was,  in  it¬ 
self,  perfectly  sufficient  to  retain  them  members  of  Gipsy- 
dom,  although,  in  cases  of  intermarriages  with  the  natives, 
the  mixed  breeds  might  have  gone  over  to  the  white  race, 
and  been  lost  to  the  general  body.  But  in  most  of  such 
cases  that  would  hardly  have  taken  place  ;  for  between  the 
two  races,  the  difference  of  feeling,  were  it  only  a  slight 
jealousy,  would  have  led  the  smaller  and  more  exclusive  and 
bigoted  to  bring  the  issue  of  such  intermarriages  within  its 
influence.  In  Great  Britain,  the  Gipsies  are  entitled,  in  one 
respect  at  least,  to  be  called  Englishmen,  Scotchmen,  or 
Irishmen  ;  for  their  general  ideas  as  men,  as  distinguished 
from  their  being  Gipsies,  and  their  language,  indicate  them, 
at  once,  to  be  such,  nearly  as  much  as  the  common  natives 
of  these  countries.  A  half  or  mixed  breed  might  more 
especially  be  termed  or  pass  for  a  native  ;  so  that,  by  cling¬ 
ing  to  the  Gipsies,  and  hiding  his  Gipsy  descent  and  affilia¬ 
tion  from  the  native  race,  he  would  lose  nothing  of  the  out¬ 
ward  character  of  an  ordinary  inhabitant ;  while  any  benefit 
arising  from  his  being  a  Gipsy  would,  at  the  same  time,  be 
enjoyed  by  him. 

But  the  subject  assumes  a  totally  different  aspect  when, 
instead  of  a  slight  jealousy  existing  between  the  two  races, 
the  difference  in  feeling  is  such  as  if  a  gulf  had  been  placed 
between  them.  The  effect  of  a  marriage  between  a  white 
and  a  Gipsy,  especially  if  he  or  she  is  known  to  be  a  Gipsy, 
is  such,  that  the  white  instinctively  withdraws  from  any  con¬ 
nexion  with  his  own  race,  and  casts  his  lot  with  the  Gip¬ 
sies.  The  children  born  of  such  unions  become  ultra  Gip¬ 
sies.  A  very  fine  illustration  of  this  principle  of  half-breed 
ultra  Gipsyism  is  given  by  Mr.  Borrow,  in  his  “  Gipsies  in 
Spain,”  in  the  case  of  an  officer  in  the  Spanish  army  adopt¬ 
ing  a  young  female  Gipsy  child,  whose  parents  had  been 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


373 


executed,  and  educating  and  marrying  her.  A  son  of  this 
marriage,  who  rose  to  be  a  captain  in  the  service  of  Donna 
Isabel,  hated  the  white  race  so  intensely,  as,  when  a  child, 
to  tell  his  father  that  he  wished  he  (his  father)  was  dead. 
At  whose  door  must  the  cause  of  such  a  feeling  be  laid? 
One  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  child  would  have  left, 
perhaps  despised,  his  mother’s  people,  and  clung  to  those 
whom  the  world  deemed  respectable.  But  the  case  was 
different.  Suppose  the  mother  had  not  been  prompted  by 
some  of  her  own  race,  while  growing  up,  and  the  son,  in  his 
turn,  not  prompted  by  the  mother,  all  that  was  necessary  to 
stir  up  his  hatred  toward  the  white  race  was  simply  to 
know  who  he  was,  as  I  will  illustrate.* 

Suppose  that  a  great  iron-master  should  fancy  a  Cinderella, 
living  by  scraping  pieces  of  iron  from  the  refuse  of  his  fur¬ 
naces,  educate  her,  and  marry  her,  as  great  iron-masters  have 
done.  Being  both  of  the  same  race,  a  complete  amalgama¬ 
tion  would  take  place  at  once  :  perhaps  the  wife  was  the 
best  person  of  the  two.  Silly  people  might  sneer  at  such  a 
marriage ;  but  if  no  objection  attached  to  the  personal  char¬ 
acter  of  the  woman,  she  might  be  received  into  society  at 
once,  and  admired  by  some,  and  envied  by  others,  particu¬ 
larly  if  she  had  no  “  low  relations”  living  near  her.  She 
might  even  boast  of  having  been  a  Cinderella,  if  it  happened 
to  be  well  known  ;  in  which  case  she  might  be  deemed  free 
of  pride,  and  consequently  a  very  sensible,  amiable  woman, 
and  worthy  of  every  admiration. 

But  who  ever  heard  of  such  a  thing  taking  place  with  a 
Gipsy?  Suppose  a  Gipsy  elevated  to  such  a  position  as  that. 


*  Tliis  Spanish  Gipsy  is  reported  by  Mr.  Borrow  to  have  said  :  “  She,  how- 
ever,  remembered  her  blood,  and  hated  my  father,  and  taught  me  to  hate 
him  likewise.  When  a  hoy,  I  used  to  stroll  about  the  plain,  that  I  might 
not  see  my  father;  and  my  father  would  follow  me,  and  beg  me  to  look 
upon  him,  and  would  ask  me  what  I  wanted ;  and  1  would  reply,  ‘  bather, 
the  only  thing  I  want  is  to  see  you  dead  !’” 

This  is  certainly  an  extreme  instance  of  the  result  of  the  prejudice  against 
the  Gipsy  race ;  and  no  opinion  can  he  formed  upon  it,  without  knowing 
some  of  the  circumstances  connected  with  the  feelings  of  the  father,  or  his 
relations,  toward  the  mother  and  the  Gipsy  race  generally.  This  Gipsy 
woman  seems  to  have  been  well  brought  up  by  her  protector  and  husband  ; 
for  she  taught  her  child  Gipsy  from  a  MS.,  and  procured  a  teacher  to 
instruct  him  in  Latin.  There  are  many  reflections  to  be  drawn  from  the 
circumstances  connected  with  this  Spanish  Gipsy  family,  but  they  do  not 
seem  to  have  occurred  to  Mr.  Borrow. 


374 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


spoken  of  ;  she  would  not,  she  dare  not,  mention  her  descent 
to  any  one  not  of  her  own  race,  and  far  less  would  she  give 
an  expose  of  Gipsydom  ;  for  she  instinctively  perceives,  or 
at  least  believes,  that,  such  is  the  prejudice  against  her  race, 
people  would  avoid  her  as  something  horridly  frightful,  al¬ 
though  she  might  be  the  finest  woman  in  the  world.  Who 
ever  heard  of  a  civilized  Gipsy,  before  Mr.  Borrow  men¬ 
tioned  those  having  attained  to  such  an  eminent  position  in 
society  at  Moscow  ?  Are  there  none  such  elsewhere  than  in 
Moscow  ?  There  are  many  in  Scotland.  It  is  this  unfortu¬ 
nate  prejudice  against  the  name  that  forces  all  our  Gipsies, 
the  moment  they  leave  the  tent,  (which  they  almost  invari¬ 
ably  do  with  their  blood  diluted  with  the  white,)  to  hide 
from  the  public  their  being  Gipsies  ;  for  they  are  morbidly 
sensitive  of  the  odium  which  attaches  to  the  name  and  race 
being  applied  to  them.  It  is  quite  time  enough  to  discover 
the  great  secret  of  Nature,  when  it  is  unavoidable  to  enter 

U  .  n  .1  f,  A  ' 

“  The  undiscovered  country  from  -whose  bourne 
No  traveller  returns.”  :  1 

f  Hr  "  \ 

As  little  disposition  is  manifested  by  these  Gipsies  to  “  show 
their  hands  the  uncertainty  of  such  an  experiment  makes 
the  very  idea  dreadful  to  them.  Hence  it  is  that  the  con¬ 
stant  aim  of  settled  Gipsies  is  to  hide  the  fact  of  their  being 
Gipsies  from  other  people. 

It  is  a  very  common  idea  that  Gipsies  do  not  mix  their 
blood  with  that  of  other  people.  Now,  what  is  the  fact?  I 
may,  indeed,  venture  to  assert,  that  there  is  not  a  full-blooded 
Gipsy  in  Scotland  ;*  and,  most  positively,  that  in  England, 
where  the  race  is  held  to  be  so  pure,  all  that  can  be  said  of 
some  families  is,  that  they  have  not  been  crossed,  as  far 
as  is  known ;  but  that,  with  these  exceptions,  the  body  is 
much  mixed  :  “  dreadfully  mixed”  is  the  Gipsies’  descrip¬ 
tion,  as,  in  many  instances,  my  own  eyes  have  witnessed. 
This  brings  me  to  an  issue  with  a  writer  in  the  Edin¬ 
burgh  Review,  who,  in  October,  1841,  when  reviewing  the 
“  Gipsies  in  Spain,”  by  Mr.  Borrow,  says,  “  Their  descent 
is  purity  itself ;  no  mixture  of  European  blood  has  con- 

*  It  is  claimed,  by  some  Scottish  Gipsies,  that  there  are  full-blood  Gipsies 
at  Yetholm,  but  I  do  not  believe  it.  This,  I  may  venture  to  say,  that  there 
can  be  no  certainty,  but,  on  the  contrary,  great  doubt,  on  the  subject.  But, 
after  all,  what  is  a  pure  Gipsy?  Was  the  race  pure  when  it  entered  Scot* 
land,  or  even  Europe?  The  idea  is  perfectly  arbitrary. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIDE  GIPSIES. 


375 


taminated  theirs . They,  (the  stranger  and  Gipsy,) 

may  live  together ;  the  European  vagrant  is  often  to  be 
found  in  the  tents  of  the  Gipsies;  they  may  join  in  the  fel¬ 
lowship  of  sport,  the  pursuit  of  plunder,  the  management  of 
their  low  trades,  but  they  can  never  fraternize.”  A  writer 
in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  on  the  same  occasion,  says,  “  Their 
care  to  preserve  the  purity  of  their  race  might,  in  itself, 
have  confuted  the  unfounded  charge,  so  often  brought  against 
them,  of  stealing  children,  and  bringing  them  up  as  Gipsies.” 
More  unfounded  ideas  than  those  put  forth  by  these  two 
writers  are  scarcely  possible  to  be  imagined.* 

This  mixture  of  “  the  blood”  is  notorious.  Many  a  full  or 
nearly  full-blood  Gipsy  will  say  that  Gipsies  do  not  mix 
their  blood  with  that  of  the  stranger.  In  such  a  case  he 
only  shuffles  ;  for  he  whispers  to  himself  two  words,  in  his 
own  language,  which  contradict  what  he  says  ;  which  words 
I  forget,  but  they  mean  “  I  belie  it ;”  that  is,  he  belies  what 
he  has  just  said.  Besides,  it  lets  the  Gipsies  down  in  their 
imagination,  and,  they  think,  in  the  imagination  of  others, 
to  allow  that  the  blood  of  their  race  is  mixed.  It  is  also  a 
secret  which  they  would  rather  hide  from  the  world  .t  I  am 
intimate  with  English  Gipsy  families,  in  none  of  whom  is 
full  blood ;  the  most  that  can  be  said  of  them  is,  that  they 
range  from  nearly  full,  say  from  seven-eighths,  down  to  one- 
eighth,  and  perhaps  less.  Suppose  that  a  fair-haired  com¬ 
mon  native  marries  a  full-blood  Gipsy  :  the  issue  of  such  an 
union  will  show  some  of  the  children,  in  point  of  external 

*  It  would  be  interesting  to  know  where  these  writers  got  such  ideas  about 
the  purity  of  the  Gipsy  blood.  It  certainly  was  not  from  Mr.  Borrow’s 
account  of  the  Gipsies  in  Spain,  whatever  they  may  have  inferred  from 
that  work. 

f  An  instance  of  this  kind  of  shuffling  is  given  by  Mr.  Borrow,  in  tho 
tenth  chapter  of  the  “  Romany  Rye,’’  in  the  person  of  Ursula,  a  full  or 
nearly  full-blood  Gipsy.  She  confines  the  crossing  of  the  blood  to  such  in¬ 
stances  as  when  a  Gipsy  dies  and  leaves  his  children  to  be  provided  for  by 
“  gorgios,  trampers,  and  basket  makers,  who  live  in  caravans but  she 
says,  “  I  hate  to  talk  of  the  matter.”  When  Mr.  Borrow  asked  her,  if  a 
Gipsy  woman,  unless  compelled  by  hard  necessity,  would  have  anything  to 
do  with  a  gorgio,  she  replied,  “  We  are  not  over-fond  of  gorgios ,  and  wo 
hate  basket-makers  and  folks  that  live  in  caravans.”  Here  she  makes  a 
very  important  distinction  between  gorgios,  (native  English,)  and  basket- 
makeis  and  folks  that  live  in  caravans,  (mixed  Gipsies.)  She  does  not  deny 
that  a  Gipsy  woman  will  intermarry  with  a  native  under  certain  circum¬ 
stances.  A  pretty-pure  Gipsy,  when  angry,  will  very  readily  call  a  mixed 
Gipsy  a  gorgio,  or,  indeed,  by  any  other  name. 


376 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


appearance,  perfectly  European,  like  the  father,  and  others, 
Gipsies,  like  the  mother.  If  two  such  European-like  Gip¬ 
sies  marry,  some  of  their  children  will  take  after  the  Gipsy, 
and  be  pretty,  even  very,  dark,  and  others  after  the  white 
race.  In  crossing  a  second  time  with  full  white  blood,  the 
issue  will  take  still  more  after  the  white  race.  Still,  the 
Gipsy  cannot  be  crossed  altogether  out ;  he  will  come  up, 
but  of  course  in  a  modified  form.  Should  the  white  blood 
be  of  a  dark  complexion  and  hair,  and  have  no  tendency, 
from  its  ancestry,  to  turn  to  fair,  in  its  descent,  then  the 
issue  between  it  and  the  Gipsy  will  always  be  dusky.  I 
have  seen  all  this,  and  had  it  fully  explained  by  the  Gipsies 
themselves. 

The  result  of  this  mixture  of  the  Gipsy  and  European 
blood  is  founded,  not  only  on  the  ordinary  principles  of 
physiology,  but  on  common  sense  itself  ;  for  why  should  not 
such  issue  take  after  the  European,  in  preference  to  the 
Gipsy  ?  If  a  residence  in  Europe  of  450  years  has  had  no 
effect  upon  the  appearance  of  what  may  be  termed  pure 
Gipsies,  (a  point  which,  at  least,  is  questionable,)  the  length 
of  time,  the  effects  of  climate,  and  the  influence  of  mind, 
should,  at  least,  predispose  it  to  merge,  by  mixture,  into 
something  bearing  a  resemblance  to  the  ordinary  European  ; 
which,  by  a  continued  crossing,  it  does.  Indeed,  it  soon  dis¬ 
appears  to  the  common  eye  :  to  a  stranger  it  is  not  observ¬ 
able,  unless  the  mixture  happens  to  be  met  with  in  a  tent, 
or  under  such  circumstances  as  one  expects  to  meet  with 
Gipsies.  In  paying  a  visit  to  an  English  Gipsy  family,  I 
was  invited  to  call  again,  on  such  a  day,  when  1  would  meet 
with  some  Welsh  Gipsies.  The  principal  Welsh  Gipsy  I 
found  to  be  a  very  quiet  man,  with  fair  hair,  and  quite  like 
an  ordinary  Englishman  ;  who  was  admitted  by  his  English 
brethren  to  “  speak  deep  Gipsy.”  He  had  just  arrived  from 
Wales,  where  he  had  been  employed  in  an  iron  work.  Un¬ 
less  I  am  misinformed,  the  issue  of  a  fair-haired  European 
and  an  ordinary  Hindoo  woman,  in  India,  sometimes  shows 
the  same  result  as  I  have  stated  of  the  Gipsies  ;  but  it  ought 
to  be  much  more  so  in  the  case  of  the  Gipsy  in  Europe,  on 
account  of  the  race  having  been  so  long  acclimated  there. 
Indeed,  it  is  generally  believed,  that  the  population  of 
Europe  contains  a  large  part  of  Asiatic  blood,  from  that  con¬ 
tinent  having  at  one  time  been  overrun  by  Asiatics,  who 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


377 


mixed  their  blood  with  an  indigenous  race  which  they  met 
with  there. 

Of  the  mixed  Spanish  Gipsy,  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  Mr. 
Borrow  says,  that  “lie  had  flaxen  hair ;  his  eyes  small,  and, 
like  ferrets,  red  and  fiery  ;  and  his  complexion  like  a  brick, 
or  dull  red,  chequered  with  spots  of  purple.”  This  descrip¬ 
tion,  with,  perhaps,  the  exception  of  the  red  eyes,  and  spots 
of  purple,  is  quite  in  keeping  with  that  of  many  of  the  mixed 
Gipsies.  The  race  seems  even  to  have  given  a  preference 
to  fair  or  red  hair,  in  the  case  of  such  children  and  grown¬ 
up  natives  as  they  have  adopted  into  their  body.  I  have 
met  with  a  young  Spaniard  from  Corunna,  wdio  is  so  much 
acquainted  with  the  Gipsies  in  Spain,  that  I  took  him  to  be 
a  mixed  Gipsy  himself ;  and  he  says  that  mixtures  among 
the  Spanish  Gipsies  are  very  common  ;  the  white  man,  in 
such  cases,  always  casting  his  lot  with  the  Gipsies.  None 
of  the  French,  German,  or  Hungarian  Gipsies  whom  I  have 
met  with  in  America  are  full  blood,  or  anything  like  it ;  but 
I  am  told  there  are  such,  and  very  black  too,  as  the  English 
Gipsies  assert.  Indeed,  considering  how  “  dreadfully  mixed” 
the  Gipsies  are  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  I  cannot  but 
conclude  that  they  are  more  or  less  so  all  over  the  world.* 

The  blood  once  mixed,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent  a  little 
more  being  added,  and  a  little  more,  and  so  on.  There  are 
English  Gipsy  girls  who  have  gone  to  work  in  factories  in 
the  Eastern  States,  and  picked  up  husbands  among  the 
ordinary  youths  of  these  establishments.  And  what  differ¬ 
ence  does  it  make?  Is  not  the  game  in  the  Gipsy  woman’s 
own  hands?  Will  she  not  bring  up  her  children  Gipsies, 
initiate  them  in  all  the  mysteries  of  Gipsydom,  and  teach 
them  the  language  ?  There  is  another  married  to  an  Ameri¬ 
can  farmer  “  down  east.”  All  that  she  has  to  do  is  simply 
to  “  tell  her  wonderful  story,”  as  the  Gipsies  express  it. 

*  Grellmann  evidently  alludes  to  Gipsies  of  mixed  blood,  when  he  writes 
in  the  following  manner :  “  Experience  shows  that  the  dark  colour  of  the 
Gipsies,  which  is  continued  from  generation  to  generation,  is  more  the  effect 
of  education  and  manner  of  life  than  descent.  Among  those  who  profess 
music  in  Hungary,  or  serve  in  the  imperial  army,  where  they  have  learned 
to  pay  more  attention  to  order  and  cleanliness,  there  are  many  to  be  found 
whose  extraction  is  not  at  all  discernible  in  their  colour.”  For  my  part,  I 
cannot  say  that  such  language  is  applicable  to  full-blood  Gipsies.  Still,  the 
change  from  tented  to  settled  and  tidy  Gipsydom  is  apt  to  show  its  effects 
in  modifying  the  complexion  of  such  Gipsies,  and  to  a  much  greater  degree 
in  their  descendants. 


378 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Jonathan  must  think  that  he  lias  caged  a  queer  kind  of  a  bird 
in  the  English  Gipsy  woman.  But  will  he  say  to  his  friends, 
or  neighbours,  that  his  wife  is  a  Gipsy?  Will  the  children 
tell  that  their  mother,  and,  consequently,  they  themselves 
are  Gipsies?  No,  indeed.  Jonathan,  however,  will  find 
her  a  very  active,  managing  woman,  who  will  always  be 
a-stirring,  and  will  not  allow  her  “old  man”  to  kindle  the 
fires  of  a  morning,  milk  his  cows,  or  clean  his  boots,  and,  as 
far  as  she  is  concerned,  will  bring  him  lots  of  chabos. 

Gipsies,  however,  do  not  like  such  marriages  ;  still  they 
take  place.  They  are  more  apt  to  occur  when  they  have 
attained  to  that  degree  of  security  in  a  community  where  no 
one  knows  them  to  be  Gipsies,  or  when  they  have  settled  in 
a  neighbourhood  to  which  they  had  come  strangers.  The 
parents  exercise  more  constraint  over  their  sons  than  daugh¬ 
ters  ;  they  cannot  bear  the  idea  of  a  son  taking  a  strange 
woman  for  a  wife ;  for  a  strange  woman  is  a  snare  unto  the 
Gipsies.  If  a  Scottish  Gipsy  lad  shows  a  hankering  after  a 
stranger  lass,  the  mother  will  soon  “  cut  his  comb,”  by  ask¬ 
ing  him,  “  What  would  she  say  if  she  knew  you  to  be  a  loon 
of  a  Gipsy  ?  Take  such  or  such  a  one  (Gipsies)  for  a  wife, 
if  you  want  one.”  But  it  is  different  with  the  girls.  If  a 
Gipsy  lass  is  determined  to  have  the  stranger  for  a  husband, 
she  has  only  to  say,  “  Never  mind,  mother ;  it  makes  no 
earthly  difference  ;  I’ll  turn  that  fellow  round  my  little  fin¬ 
ger  ;  I’ll  take  care  of  the  children  when  I  get  them.”  I  do 
not  know  how  the  settled  Scottish  Gipsies  broach  the  sub¬ 
ject  of  being  Gipsies  to  the  stranger  son-in-law  when  he  is 
introduced  among  them.  I  can  .  imagine  the  girl,  during  the 
courtship,  saying  to  herself,  with  reference  to  her  intended, 
“  I’ll  lead  you  captive,  my  pretty  fellow !”  And  captive  she 
does  lead  him,  in  more  senses  lhan  one.  Perhaps  the  sub¬ 
ject  is  not  broached  to  him  till  after  she  has  borne  him  chil¬ 
dren  ;  or,  if  he  is  any  way  soft,  the  mother,  with  a  leering 
eye,  will  say  to  him  at  once,  “  Ah  ha,  lad,  ye’re  among  Gip¬ 
sies  now !”  In  such  a  case,  the  young  man  will  be  perfectly 
bewildered  to  know  what  it  all  means,  so  utterly  ignorant 
is  he  about  Gipsies  ;  when,  however,  he  comes  to  learn  all 
about  it,  it  will  be  mum  with  him,  as  if  his  wife’s  friends 
had  burked  him,  or  some  “  old  Gipsy”  had  come  along,  and 
sworn  him  in  on  the  point  of  a  drawn  dirk.  It  may  be  that 
the  Gipsy  never  mentions  the  subject  to  her  husband  at  all, 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


379 


for  fear  lie  should  “  take  her  life  she  can,  at  all  events,  trust 
her  secret  with  her  children. 

Why  should  there  be  any  hard  feelings  towards  a  Gipsy 
for  “taking  in  and  burking”  a  native  in  this  way?  She 
does  not  propose — she  only  disposes  of  herself.  She  has  no 
business  to  tell  the  other  that  she  is  a  Gipsy.  She  does  not 
consider  herself  a  worse  woman  than  he  is  a  man,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  a  better.  She  would  rather  prefer  a  chabo, 
but,  somehow  or  other,  she  sacrifices  her  feelings,  and  takes 
the  gorgio,  “  for  better  or  worse.”  Or  there  may  be  con¬ 
siderable  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  connexion,  so 
that  she  spreads  her  snares  to  secure  them.  Being  a  Gipsy, 
she  has  the  whip-hand  of  the  husband,  for  no  consideration 
will  induce  him  to  divulge  to  any  one  the  fact  that  his  wife 
is  a  Gipsy — should  she  have  told  him  ;  in  which  case  she 
has  such  a  hold  upon  him,  as  to  have  “  turned  him  round  her 
little  finger”  most  effectually.  “  Married  a  Gipsy !  it’s  no’ 
possible  !”  “  Ay,  it  is  possible.  There  1”  she  will  say,  chat¬ 

tering  her  words,  and,  with  her  fingers,  showing  him  the 
signs.  He  soon  gets  reconciled  to  the  “  better  or  worse” 
which  he  has  taken  to  his  bosom,  as  well  as  to  her  “  folk,” 
and  becomes  strongly  attached  to  them.  The  least  thing 
that  the  Gipsy  can  then  do  is  to  tell  her  “  wonderful  story” 
to  her  children.  It  is  not  teaching  them  any  damnable 
creed  ;  it  is  only  telling  them  who  they  are  ;  so  that  they 
may  acknowledge  herself,  her  people,  her  blood,  and  the 
blood  of  the  children  themselves. 

And  how  does  the  Gipsy  woman  bring  up  her  children  in 
regard  to  her  own  race?  She  tells  them  her  “  wonderful 
story”- — informs  them  who  they  are,  and  of  the  dreadful  prej¬ 
udice  that  exists  against  them,  simply  for  being  Gipsies. 
She  then  tells  them  about  Pharaoh  and  Joseph  in  Egypt, 
terming  her  people,  “  Pharaoh’s  folk.”  In  short,  she  dazzles 
the  imagination  of  the  children,  from  the  moment  they  can 
comprehend  the  simplest  idea.  Then  she  teaches  them  her 
words,  or  language,  as  the  “  real  Egyptian,”  and  frightens 
and  bewilders  the  youthful  mind  by  telling  them  that  they 
are  subject  to  be  hanged  if  they  arc  known  to  be  Gipsies, 
or  to  speak  these  words,  or  will  be  looked  upon  as  wild 
beasts  by  those  around  them.  She  then  informs  the  chil¬ 
dren  how  long  the  Gipsies  have  been  in  the  country  ;  how 
they  lived  in  tents  ;  how  they  were  persecuted,  banished, 


880 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  OIDSIES. 


and  hanged,  merely  for  being  Gipsies.  She  then  tells  them 
of  her  people  being  in  every  part  of  the  world,  whom  they 
can  recognize  by  the  language  and  signs  which  she  is 
teaching  them  ;  and  that  her  race  will  everywhere  be  ready 
to  shed  their  blood  for  them.  She  then  dilates  upon  the 
benefits  that  arise  from  being  a  Gipsy — benefits  negative  as 
well  as  positive  ;  for  should  they  ever  be  set  upon — garroted, 
for  example — all  that  they  will  have  to  do  will  be  to  cry 
out  some  such  expression  as  “Biene  rate,  calo  chabo,”  (good¬ 
night,  Gipsy,  or  black  fellow,)  when,  if  there  is  a  Gipsy  near 
them,  he  will  protect  them.  The  children  will  be  fondled 
by  her  relatives,  handed  about  and  hugged  as  “  little  ducks 
of  Gipsies.”  The  granny,  while  sitting  at  the  fireside,  like 
a  witch,  performs  no  small  part  in  the  education  of  the  chil¬ 
dren,  making  them  fairly  dance  with  excitement.  In  this 
manner  do  the  children  of  Gipsies  have  the  Gipsy  soul  liter¬ 
ally  breathed  into  them.* 

In  such  a  way — what  with  the  supreme  influence  which 
the  mother  has  exercised  over  the  mind  of  the  child  from  its 
very  infancy  ;  the  manner  in  which  its  imagination  has  been 
dazzled  ;  and  the  dreadful  prejudice  towards  the  Gipsies, 
which  they  all  apply,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  themselves — 
does  the  Gipsy  adhere  to  his  race.  When  he  comes  to  be 
a  youth,  he  naturally  enough  endeavours  to  find  his  way  to 
a  tent,  to  have  a  look  at  the  “  old  thing.”  He  does  not, 
however,  think  much  of  it  as  a  reality  ;  but  it  presents  some¬ 
thing  very  poetical  and  imaginative  to  his  mind,  when  he 
contemplates  it  as  the  state  from  which  his  mysterious  fore¬ 
fathers  have  sprung.!  It  makes  very  little  difference,  in  the 

*  Mr.  Offor,  editor  of  a  late  edition  of  Bunyan’s  works,  writes,  in  “  Notes 
and  Queries,”  thus  :  “  I  have  avoided  much  intercourse  with  this  class,  fear¬ 
ing  the  fate  of  Mr.  Iloyland,  who,  being  a  Quaker,  was  shot  by  one  of 
Cupid’s  darts  from  a  black-eyed  Gipsy  girl ;  and  J.  S.  may  do  well  to  be  cau¬ 
tious.”  Mr.  Offor  is  not  far  wrong.  A  Gipsy  girl  can  sometimes  fascinate 
a  “  white  fellow,”  as  a  snake  can  a  bird — make  him  flutter,  and  particularly 
so,  should  the  “  little  Gipsy”  be  met  with  in  some  such  dress  as  black  silks 
and  a  white  polka.  This  much  can  be  said  of  Gipsy  women,  which  cannot 
be  said  of  all  women,  that  they  know  their  places,  and  are  not  apt  to  usurp 
the  rights  of  the  rajahs  ;  they  will  even  “  work  the  nails  off  their  fingers” 
to  make  them  feel  comfortable. 

I  should  conclude,  from  what  Mr.  Offor  says,  that  the  Quaker  married 
the  Gipsy  girl.  If  children  were  born  of  the  union,  they  will  be  Gipsy- 
Quakers,  or  Quaker-Gipsies,  whichever  expression  we  choose  to  adopt. 

f  I  have  picked  up  quite  a  number  of  Scottish  Gipsies  of  respectable 
character,  from  their  having  gone  in  their  youth,  to  look  at  the  “  old  thing.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


381 


case  to  -which  I  have  alluded,  whether  the  father  be  a  Gipsy 
or  not ;  the  children  all  go  with  the  mother,  for  they  in¬ 
herit  the  blood  through  her.  What  with  the  blood,  the  edu¬ 
cation,  the  words,  and  the  signs,  they  are  simply  Gipsies, 
and  will  be  such,  as  long  as  they  retain  a  consciousness  of 
who  they  are,  and  any  peculiarities  exclusively  Gipsy. 
As  it  sometimes  happens  that  the  father,  only,  is  a  Gipsy,  the 
attachment  may  not  be  so  strong,  on  the  part  of  the  children, 
as  if  the  blood  had  come  through  the  mother  ;  still,  it  like¬ 
wise  attaches  them  to  the  body.  A  great  deal  of  jealousy 
is  shown  by  the  Gipsies,  when  a  son  marries  a  strange  wo¬ 
man.  A  greater  ado  is  not  made  by  some  Catholics,  to 
bring  up  their  children  Catholics,  under  such  circumstances, 
than  is  exhibited  by  Gipsies  for  their  children  knowing  their 
secret— -that  is,  the  “  wonderful  story  which  has  the  effect 
of  leading  them,  in  their  turn,  to  marry  with  Gipsies.  The 
race  is  very  jealous  of  “  the  blood”  being  lost ;  or  that  their 
“  wonderful  story”  should  become  known  to  those  who  are 
not  Gipsies. 

There  are  people  who  cannot  imagine  how  a  man  can  be 
a  Gipsy  and  have  fair  hair.  They  think  that,  from  his  hav¬ 
ing  fair  hair,  he  cannot  have  the  same  feelings  of  what  they 
imagine  to  be  a  true  Gipsy,  that  is,  a  black-haired  one. 
One  naturally  asks,  what  effect  can  the  matter  of  colour  of 
hair  have  upon  the  mind  of  a  member  of  any  community  or 
clan,  whether  the  hair  be  black,  brown,  red,  fair,  or  white, 
or  the  person  have  no  hair  at  all  ?  Let  us  imagine  a  Gipsy 
with  fair  hair.  How  long  is  it  since  the  white  blood  was 
introduced  among  his  ancestors  ?  Perhaps  three  hundred 
and  fifty  years.  The  race  of  which  he  comes  has  been, 
more  or  less,  mixing  and  crossing  ever  since,  but  always 
retaining  the  issue  within  its  own  community.  Is  he  fair¬ 
haired  ?  Then  he  may  be  half  a  Gipsy  ;  he  may  be  three- 
fourths  Gipsy,  and  perhaps  even  more.  At  the  present  day, 

It  is  the  most  natural  thing  in  the  world  for  them  to  do.  What  is  it  to 
look  back  to  the  time  of  James  V.,  in  1540,  when  John  Faw  was  lord-para- 
mount  over  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland  ?  Imagine,  then,  the  natural  curiosity 
of  a  young  Gipsy,  brought  up  in  a  town,  to  look  at  something  like  the  ori¬ 
ginal  condition  of  his  ancestors.  Such  a  Gipsy  will  leave  Edinburgh,  for 
example,  and  travel  over  the  south  of  Scotland,  “  casting  his  sign,”  as  he 
passes  through  the  villages,  in  every  one  of  which  he  will  find  Gipsies. 
Some  of  these  villages  are  almost  entirely  occupied  by  Gipsies.  James 
Hogg  is  reported,  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  to  say,  that  Lochmaben  is 
“  stocked”  with  them. 


382 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  “  points”  of  such  a  Gipsy  are  altogether  arbitrary  ;  some 
profess  to  know  their  points,  but  it  is  a  thing  altogether  un¬ 
certain.  All  that  they  know  and  adhere  to  is,  that  they  are 
Gipsies,  and  nothing  else.  In  this  manner  are  the  British 
Gipsies,  (with  the  exception  of  some  English  families,  about 
whom  there  iS  no  certainty,)  members  of  the  Gipsy  commu¬ 
nity,  or  nation,  as  such — eacli  having  some  of  the  blood  ;  and 
not  Gipsies  of  an  ideal  purity  of  race.  What  they  know  is, 
that  their  parents  and  relatives  are  Gipsies  ;  that  Gipsies 
separate  them  from  the  eternity  that  is  past ;  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  that  they  arc  Gipsies.  They,  indeed,  accept  their 
descent,  blood,  and  nationality  as  instinctively  as  they  accept 
the  very  sex  which  God  has  given  them.  Which  of  the  two 
knows  most  of  Gipsydom — the  fair-haired  or  black?  Al¬ 
most  invariably  the  fair.* 

We  naturally  ask,  what  effect  has  this  difference  in  appear¬ 
ance  upon  two  such  members  of  one  family — the  one  with 
European,  the  other  with  Gipsy,  features  and  colour  ?  and 
the  answer  is  this  :  The  first  will  hide  the  fact  of  his  being 
a  Gipsy  from  strangers  ;  indeed,  he  is  ashamed  to  let  it  be 
known  that  he  is  a  Gipsy  ;  and  he  is  afraid  that  people,  not 
knowing  how  it  came  about,  would  laugh  at  him.  “  What !” 
they  would  ask,  “  you  a  Gipsy  ?  The  idea  is  absurd.”  Be¬ 
sides,  it  facilitates  his  getting  on  in  the  world,  to  prevent  it 
being  known  that  he  is  a  Gipsy.  The  other  member  cannot 
deny  that  he  is  a  Gipsy,  because  anv  one  can  see  it.  Such 
are  the  Gipsies  who  are  more  apt  to  cling  to  the  tent,  or  the 
more  original  ways  of  the  old  stock.  They  are  very  proud 

*  Among  the  English  Gipsies,  fair-hairerl  ones  are  looked  upon  by  the 
purer  sort,  or  even  by  those  taking-  after  the  Gipsy,  as  “  small  potatoes.” 
The  consequence  is,  they  have  to  make  up  for  their  want  of  blood,  by  smart¬ 
ness,  knowledge  of  the  language,  or  something  that  will  go  to  balance  the 
deficiency  of  blood.  They  generally  lay  claim  to  the  intellect,  while  they 
yield  the  blood  to  the  others.  A  full  or  nearly  full-blood  young  English  Gipsy 
looks  upon  herself  with  all  the  pride  of  a  little  -duchess,  while  in  the  com¬ 
pany  of  young  male  mixed  Gipsies.  A  mixed  Gipsy  may  reasonably  be 
assumed  to  be  more  intelligent  than  one  of  the  old  stock,  were  it  only  for 
this  reason,  that  the  mixture  softens  down  the  natural  concoit  and  bigotry 
of  the  Gipsy;  while,  as  regards  his  personal  appearance,  it  puts  him  in  a 
more  improvable  position.  Still,  a  full-blood  Gipsy  looks  up  to  a  mixed 
Gipsy,  if  he  is  anything  of  a  superior  man,  and  freely  acknowledges  the 
blood.  Indeed,  the  two  kinds  will  readily  marry,  if  circumstances  bring 
them  together.  To  a  couple  of  such  Gipsies  I  said  :  “  What  difference  does 
it  make,  if  the  person  has  the  blood,  and,  has  his  heart  in  the  right  place  ?” 
“  That’s  the  idea  ;  that’s  exactly  the  idea,”  they  both  replied. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


383 


of  their  appearance  ;  but  it  is  a  pride  accompanied  with  dis¬ 
advantages,  and  even  pain.  For,  after  all,  the  beauty  and 
pleasure  in  being  a  Gipsy  is  to  have  the  other  cast  of  fea¬ 
tures  and  colour  ;  he  has  as  much  of  the  blood  and  language 
as  the  other,  while  he  can  go  into  any  kind  of  company — a 
sort  of  Jack-the-Giant-Killer  in  his  invisible  coat.  The 
nearer  the  Gipsy  comes  to  the  original  colour  of  his  race, 
the  less  chance  is  there  of  improving  him.  He  knows  what 
he  is  like  ;  and  well  does  he  know  the  feeling  that  people 
entertain  for  him.  In  fact,  he  feels  that  there  is  no  use  in 
being  anything  but  what  people  call  a  Gipsy.  But  it  is  dif¬ 
ferent  with  those  of  European  countenance  and  colour,  or 
when  these  have  been  modified  or  diluted  by  a  mixture  of 
white  blood.  They  can,  then,  enter  upon  any  sphere  of  em¬ 
ployment  to  which  they  have  a  mind,  and  their  personal  ad¬ 
vantages  and  outward  circumstances  will  admit  of.* 

Let  us  now  consider  the  destiny  of  such  European-like 
Gipsies.  Suppose  a  female  of  this  description  marries  a 
native  in  settled  life,  which  both  of  them  follow.  She  brings 
the  children  up  as  Gipsies,  in  the  way  described.  The  chil¬ 
dren  arc  apt  to  become  ultra  Gipsies.  If  they,  in  their  turn, 
marry  natives,  they  do  the  same  with  their  children  ;  so  that, 
if  the  same  system  were  always  followed,  they  would  continue 
Gipsies  forever.  For  all  that  is  necessary  to  perpetuate 
the  tribe,  is  simply  for  the  Gipsies  to  know  who  they  are, 
and  the  prejudice  that  exists  toward  the  race  of  which  they 
are  a  part ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  innate  associations  con¬ 
nected  with  their  origin  and  descent.  Such  a  phenomenon 
may  be  fitly  compared  to  the  action  of  an  auger ;  with  this 
difference,  that  the  auger  may  lose  its  edge,  but  the  Gipsy 
will  drill  his  way  through  generations  of  the  ordinary 
natives,  and,  at  the  end,  come  out  as  sharp  as  ever  ;  all  the 
circumstances  attending  the  two  races  being  exactly  the 
same  at  the  end  as  at  the  beginning.  In  this  way,  let  their 
blood  be  mixed  as  it  may,  let  even  their  blood-relationship 
outside  of  their  body  be  what  it  may,  the  Gipsies  still  remain, 
in  their  private  associations,  a  distinct  people,  into  whatever 

*  To  thoroughly  understand  how  a  Gipsy,  with  fair  hair  and  blue  eyes, 
can  be  as  much  a  Gipsy  as  one  with  black,  may  be  termed  “  passing  the 
pons  assinnrmn  of  the  Gipsy  question.”  Once  over  the  bridge,  and  there 
are  no  difficulties  to  be  encountered  on  the  journey,  unless  it  be  to  under¬ 
stand  that  a  Gipsy  can  be  a  Gipsy  without  living  in  a  tent  or  being  a  rogue. 


334 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


sphere  of  human  action  they  may  enter  ;  although,  in  point 
of  blood,  appearance,  occupation,  character,  and  religion, 
they  may  have  drifted  the  breadth  of  a  hemisphere  from  the 
stakes  and  tent  of  the  original  Gipsy. 

There  can  surely  be  no  great  difficulty  in  comprehending 
so  simple  an  idea  as  this.  Here  wc  have  a  foreign  race  in¬ 
troduced  amongst  us,  which  has  been  proscribed,  legally  as 
well  as  socially.  To  escape  the  effects  of  this  double  pro¬ 
scription,  the  people  have  hidden  the  fact  of  their  belonging 
to  the  race,  although  they  have  clung  to  it  with  an  ardour 
worthy  of  universal  admiration.  The  proscription  is  toward 
the  name  and  race  as  such,  that  is,  the  blood  ;  and  is  not 
general,  but  absolute  ;  none  having  ever  been  received  into 
society  as  Gipsies.  For  this  reason,  every  Gipsy,  every  one 
who  has  Gipsy  blood  in  his  veins,  applies  the  proscription 
to  himself.  On  the  other  hand,  he  has  his  own  descent — 
the  Gipsy  descent ;  and,  as  I  have  already  said,  he  has 
naturally  as  little  desire  to  wish  a  different  descent,  as  he 
has  to  have  a  different  sex.  As  Finns  do  not  wish  to  have 
been  born  Englishmen,  or  Englishmen  Finns,  so  Gipsies  are 
perfectly  satisfied  with  their  descent,  nay,  extremely  proud 
of  it.  They  would  not  change  it,  if  they  could,  for  any  con¬ 
sideration.  When  Gipsies,  therefore,  marry  natives,  they  do 
not  only  willingly  bring  up  their  children  as  Gipsies,  but  by 
every  moral  influence  they  are  forced  to  do  it,  and  cling  to 
each  other.  In  this  way  has  the  race  been  absolutely  cut  off 
from  that  of  the  ordinary  natives  ;  all  intercourse  between 
the  two,  unless  on  the  part  of  the  hush  Gipsy,  in  the  way  of 
dealings,  having  been  of  a  clandestine  nature,  on  the  side  of 
the  Gipsy,  or,  in  other  words,  incog.  How  melancholy  it  is 
to  think  that  such  a  state  of  things  exists  in  the  British 
Islands ! 

The  Gipsy,  born  of  a  Gipsy  mother  and  a  native  father, 
does,  therefore,  most  naturally,  and,  I  may  say,  invariably, 
follow  the  Gipsy  connexion  ;  the  simplest  impulse  of  man¬ 
hood  compels  him  to  do  it.  Being  born,  or  becoming  a 
member  of  settled  society,  he  joins  in  the  ordinary  amuse¬ 
ments  or  occupations  of  his  fellow-creatures  of  both  races  ; 
which  he  does  the  more  readily  when  he  feels  conscious  of 
the  incognito  which  he  bears.  But  he  has  been  brought  up 
from  his  mother’s  knee  a  Gipsy  ;  he  knows  nothing  else  ;  his 
associations  with  his  relatives  have  been  Gipsy  ;  and  he  has 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


385 


in  his  veins  that  which  the  white  damns,  and,  he  doubts  not, 
would  damn  in  him,  were  lie  to  know  of  it.  He  has,  more¬ 
over,  the  words  and  signs  of  the  Gipsy  race  ;  he  is  brought 
in  contact  with  the  Gipsy  race  ;  he  perceives  that  his  feelings 
are  reciprocated  by  them,  and  that  both  have  the  same 
reserve  and  timidity  for  “  outsiders.”  He  does  not  reason 
abstractly  what  he  is  not,  but  instinctively  holds  that  lie  is 
“one  of  them  that  he  lias  in  his  mind,  his  heart,  and  his 
blood,  that  which  the  common  native  has  not,  and  which 
makes  him  a  chabo,  that  is,  a  Gipsy. 

The  mother,  in  the  case  mentioned,  is  certainly  not  a  full- 
blood  Gipsy,  nor  anything  like  it ;  she  docs  not  know  her 
real  “  points  all  that  she  knows  is,  that  she  is  a  “  Gipsy 
so  that,  if  the  youth’s  father  is  an  ordinary  native,  the  youth 
holds  himself  to  be  a  half-and-half,  nominally,  though  he 
does  not  know  what  lie  really  is,  as  regards  blood.  Imagine, 
then,  that  he  takes  such  a  half-and-half  Gipsy  for  a  wife,  and 
that  both  tell  their  children  that  they  are  “Gipsies:”  the 
children,  perhaps,  knowing  nothing  of  the  real  origin  of 
their  parents,  take  up  the  “  wonderful  story,”  and  hand  it 
down  to  their  children,  initiating  them,  in  their  turn,  in  the 
“  mysteries.”  These  children  never  doubt  that  they  are 
“  Gipsies,”  although  their  Gipsyism  may,  as  I  have  already 
said,  have  “drifted  the  breadth  of  a  hemisphere  from  the 
stakes  and  tent  of  the  original  Gipsy.”  In  this  manner  is 
Gipsydom  kept  alive,  by  its  turning  round  and  round  in  a 
perpetual  circle.  And  in  this  manner  docs  it  happen,  that 
a  native  finds  his  own  children  Gipsies,  from  having,  in  seek¬ 
ing  for  a  wife,  stumbled  upon  an  Egyptian  woman.  Gipsy¬ 
dom  is,  therefore,  the  aggregate  of  Gipsies,  wherever,  or 
under  whatever  circumstances,  they  are  to  be  found.  It  is, 
in  two  respects,  an  absolute  question  ;  absolute  as  to  blood, 
and  absolute  as  to  those  teachings,  feelings,  and  associations, 
that,  by  a  moral  necessity,  accompany  the  possession  of  the 
blood. 

This  brings  me  to  an  issue  with  Mr.  Borrow.  Speaking 
of  the  destination  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  he  says :  “  If  the 
Gitanos  are  abandoned  to  themselves,  by  which  we  mean,  no 
arbitrary  laws  are  again  enacted  for  their  extinction,  the 
sect  will  eventually  cease  to  be,  and  its  members  become 
confounded  with  the  residue  of  the  population.”  I  can  well 
understand  that  such  procedure,  on  the  part  of  the  Spanish 
17 


S86 


DISQUISITION'  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Government,  was  calculated  to  soften  the  ferocious  disposi¬ 
tion  of  the  Gipsies ;  but  did  it  bring  them  a  point  nearer 
to  an  amalgamation  with  the  people  than  before  ?  Mr.  Bor¬ 
row  continues  :  “  The  position  which  they  occupy  is  the 

lowest . The  outcast  of  the  prison  and  the  presidio, 

who  calls  himself  Spaniard,  would  feel  insulted  by  being 
termed  Gitano,  and  would  thank  God  that  he  is  not.”  He 
continues  :  “  It  is,  of  course,  by  intermarriage,  alone,  that  the 
two  races  will  ever  commingle  ;  and  before  that  event  is 
brought  about,  much  modification  must  take  place  amongst 
the  Gitanos,  in  their  manners,  in  their  habits,  in  their  affec¬ 
tions  and  their  dislikes,  and  perhaps  even  in  their  physical 
peculiarities,  (yet  ‘  no  washing,’  as  Mr.  Borrow  approvingly 
quotes,  ‘  will  turn  the  Gipsy  white ;’)  much  must  be  for¬ 
gotten  on  both  sides,  and  everything  is  forgotten  in  course 
of  time.”  So  great,  indeed,  was  the  prejudice  against  the 
Gipsies,  that  the  law  of  Charles  III,  in  1783,  forbade  the 
people  calling  them  Gitanos,  under  the  penalty  of  being 
punished  for  slander  !  because,  his  majesty  said  :  “  I  declare 
that  those  who  go  by  the  name  of  Gitanos  are  not  so  by 
origin  or  nature ;  nor  do  they  proceed  from  any  infected 
root  (!)”  What  regard  would  the  native  Spaniards  pay  to 
the  injunction,  that  they  would  be  punished  for  “  slander,” 
for  calling  the  Gipsies  Gitanos,  in  place  of  Spaniards? 
We  may  well  believe  that  such  a  law  would  be  a  dead  letter 
in  Spain  ;  where,  according  to  Mr.  Borrow,  “justice  has  in¬ 
variably  been  a  mockery  ;  a  thing  to  be  bought  and  sold, 
terrible  only  to  the  feeble  and  innocent,  and  an  instrument 
of  cruelty  and  avarice.” 

Mr.  Borrow  leaves  the  question  where  lie  found  it.  Even 
remove  the  prejudice  that  exists  against  the  Gipsies,  as  re¬ 
gards  their  colour,  habits,  and  history  ;  what  then?  Would 
they,  as  a  people,  cease  to  be  ?  Would  they  amalgamate 
with  the  natives,  so  as  to  be  lost  ?  Assuredly  not.  They 
may  mix  their  blood,  but  they  preserve  their  mental  identity 
in  the  world  ;  even  although,  in  point  of  physical  appear¬ 
ance,  habits,  manners,  occupation,  character,  and  creed,  they 
might  “  become  confounded  with  the  residue  of  the  popula¬ 
tion.”  In  that  respect,  they  are  the  most  exclusive  people 
of  almost  any  to  be  found  in  the  world.  We  have  only  to 
consider  what  Freemasonry  is,  and  we  can  form  an  idea  of 
what  Gipsyisra  is,  in  one  of  its  aspects.  It  rests  upon  the 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


387 


broadest  of  all  bases — flesh  and  blood,  a  common  and 
mysterious  origin,  a  common  language,  a  common  history,  a 
common  persecution,  and  a  common  odium,  in  every  part  of 
the  world.  Remove  the  prejudice  against  the  Gipsies,  make 
it  as  respectable  to  be  Gipsies,  as  the  world,  with  its  igno¬ 
rance  of  many  of  the  race,  deem  it  desreputable  ;  what 
then?  Some  of  them  might  come  out  with  their  “  tents  and 
encampments,”  and  banners  and  mottoes  :  the  “  cuddy  and 
the  creel,  the  hammer  and  tongs,  the  tent  and  the  tin  kettle” 
forever.  People  need  not  sneer  at  the  “  cuddy  and  the 
creel.”  The  idea  conveys  a  world  of  poetry  to  the  mind  of 
a  Gipsy.  Mrs.  Fall,  of  Dunbar,  thought  it  so  poetical,  that 
she  had  it,  as  we  have  seen,  worked  in  tapestry  ;  and  it  is 
doubtless  carefully  preserved,  as  an  heir-loom,  among  her 
collateral  descendants.* 

Mr.  Borrow  speaks  of  the  Gipsies  “  declining”  in  Spain. 
Ask  a  Scotchman  about  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  and  ho  will  an¬ 
swer  :  “  The  Scotch  Gipsies  have  pretty  much  died  out.” 
“  Died  out?”  I  ask  ;  “  that  is  impossible  ;  for  who  are  more 
prolific  than  Gipsies  ?”  “  Oh,  then,  they  have  become  settled, 

*  There  is  a  considerable  resemblance  between  Gipsyism,  in  its  harmless 
aspect,  and  Freemasonry  ;  with  this  difference,  that  the  former  is  a  general, 
while  the  latter  is  a  special,  society;  that  is  to  say,  the  Gipsies  have  the 
language,  or  some  of  the  words,  and  the  signs,  peculiar  to  the  whole  race, 
which  each  individual  or  class  will  use  for  different  purposes.  The  race 
does  not  necessarily,  and  does  not  in  fact,  have  intercourse  with  every 
other  member  of  it ;  in  that  respect,  they  resemble  any  ordinary  commu¬ 
nity  of  men.  Masonry,  as  my  reader  may  be  aware,  is  a  society  of  what 
may  be  termed  “  a  mixed  multitude  of  good  fellows,  who  arc  all  pledged  to 
befriend  and  help  each  other.”  The  radical  elements  of  Masonry  may  be 
termed  a  “rope  of  sand,”  which  the  vows  of  the  Order  work  into  the  most 
closely  and  strongly  formed  coil  of  any  to  be  found  in  the  world.  But  it 
is  altogether  of  an  artificial  nature;  while  Gipsyism  is  natural — something 
that,  when  separated  from  objectionable  habits,  one  might  almost  call  divine ; 
for  it  is  founded  upon  a  question  of  race — a  question  of  blood.  The  cement 
of  a  creed  is  weak,  in  comparison  with  that  which  binds  the  Gipsies  together; 
for  a  people,  like  an  individual,  may  have  one  creed  to  day,  and  another 
to  morrow  ;  it  may  be  continually  travelling  round  the  circle  of  every  form 
of  faith;  but  blood,  under  certain  circumstances,  is  absolute  and  immutable. 

There  are  many  Gipsies  Freemasons;  indeed,  they  are  the  very  people 
to  push  their  way  into  a  Mason’s  lodge;  for  they  have  secrets  of  their  own, 
and  are  naturally  anxious  to  pry  into  those  of  others,  by  which  they  may¬ 
be  benefited.  I  was  told  of  a  Gipsy  who  died  lately,  the  Master  of  a  Masons’ 
Lodge.  A  friend,  a  Mason,  told  me,  the  other  day,  of  his  having  entered  a 
house  in  Yetholm.  where  were  five  Gipsies,  all  of  whom  responded  to  his 
Masonic  signs.  Masons  should  therefore  interest  themselves  in,  and  be¬ 
friend,  the  Gipsies. 


388 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


and  civilized.”  “  And  ceased  to  he  Gipsies  ?”  I  continue. 
“  Exactly  so,”  lie  replies.  What  idea  can  be  more  ridicu¬ 
lous  than  that  of  saying,  that  if  a  Gipsy  leaves  the  tent, 
settles  in  a  town,  and  attends  church,  he  ceases  to  be  a 
Gipsy  ;  and  that,  if  he  takes  to  the  tent  again,  he  becomes  a 
Gipsy  again  ?  What  has  a  man’s  occupation,  habits,  or  char¬ 
acter,  to  do  with  his  clan,  tribe,  or  nationality?  Does  edu¬ 
cation,  does  religion,  remove  from  his  mind  a  knowledge  of 
who  he  is,  or  change  his  blood  ?  Are  not  our  own  Borderers 
and  Highlanders  as  much  Borderers  and  Highlanders  as  ever 
they  were  ?  Are  not  Spanish  Gipsies  still  Spanish  Gipsies,  al¬ 
though  a  change  may  have  come  over  the  characters  and  cir¬ 
cumstances  of  some  of  them  ?  It  would  be  absurd  to  deny  it.* 

Mr.  Borrow  has  not  sufficiently  examined  into  Spanish 
Gipsyism  to  pass  a  reliable  opinion  upon  it.  He  says  : 
“  One  thing  is  certain,  in  the  history  of  the  Gitanos ;  that 
the  sect  flourished  and  encreased,  so  long  as  the  law  recom¬ 
mended  and  enjoined  measures  the  most  harsh  and  severe 

for  its  suppression . The  caste  of  the  Gitanos  still 

exists,  but  is  neither  so  extensive,  nor  so  formidable,  as  a 
century  ago,  when  the  law,  in  denouncing  Gitanismo,  pro- 

*  The  principle,  or  rather  fact,  here  involved,  simple  as  it  is  in  itself,  is 
evidently  very  difficult  of  comprehension  by  the  native  Scottish  mind. 
Any  person  understands  perfectly  well  how  a  Highlander,  at  the  present 
day,  is  still  a  Highlander,  notwithstanding  the  great  change  that  has  come 
over  the  character  of  his  race.  But  our  Scottish  literati  seem  to  have  been 
altogether  at  sea,  in  comprehending  the  same  principle  as  applicable  to  the 
Gipsies.  They  might  naturally  have  asked  themselves,  whether  Gipsies 
could  have  procreated  Jews  ;  and,  if  not  Jews,  how  they  could  have  pro¬ 
created  gorr/ios,  (as  English  Gipsies  term  natives.)  A  writer  in  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine  says,  in  reference  to  Billy  Marshall,  a  Gipsy  chief,  to  whom 
allusion  has  already  been  made:  “Who  were  his  descendants  I  cannot 
tell ;  I  am  sure  he  could  not  do  it  himself,  if  he  were  living.  It  is  known 
that  they  were  prodigiously  numerous  ;  I  dare  say  numberless.”  And  yet 
this  writer  gravely  says  that  “  the  rare,  is  in  some  risk  of  becoming  ex¬ 
tinct  (!)”  Another  writer  in  Blackwood  says:  “  Their  numbers  may  per¬ 
haps  have  since  been  diminished,  in  particular  States,  by  the  progress  of 
civilization  (/)”  We  would  naturally  pronounce  any  person  crazy  who 
would  maintain  that  there  were  no  Highlanders  in  Scotland,  owing  to  their 
having  “changed  their  habits.”  We  could,  with  as  much  reason,  say  the 
same  of  those  who  will  maintain  this  opinion  in  regard  to  the  Gipsies. 
There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  what  is  called  genius  expended  upon  the 
Gipsies,  but  wonderfully  little  common  sense. 

As  the  Jews,  during  their  pilgrimage  in  the  Wilderness,  were  protected 
from  their  enemies  by  a  cloud,  so  have  the  Gipsies,  in  their  encrease  and 
development,  been  shielded  from  theirs,  by  a  mist  of  ignorance,  which,  it 
would  seem,  requires  no  little  trouble  to  dispel. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


389 


posed  to  the  Gitanos  the  alternatives  of  death  for  persisting 
in  their  profession,  or  slavery  for  abandoning  it.”  These 
are  very  singular  alternatives.  The  latter  is  certainly  not 
to  be  found  in  any  of  the  Spanish  laws  quoted  by  Mr.  Bor¬ 
row.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  perceive  the  point  of  his  reasoning. 
There  can  be  no  difficulty  in  believing  that  Gipsies  would 
rather  encrease  in  a  state  of  peace,  than  if  they  were  hunted 
from  place  to  place,  like  wild  beasts  ;  and  consequently, 
having  renounced  their  former  mode  of  life,  they  would,  in 
Mr.  Borrow’s  own  words,  “  cease  to  play  a  distinct  part  in 
the  history  of  Spain,  and  the  law  would  no  longer  speak  of 
them  as  a  distinct  people.”  And  the  same  might,  to  a  cer¬ 
tain  extent,  be  said  of  the  Spanish  'people.  Mr.  Borrow 
again  says :  “  That  the  Gitanos  are  not  so  numerous  as  in 
former  times,  witness  those  barrios ,  in  various  towns,  still  de¬ 
nominated  Gitanerias,  but  from  whence  the  Gitanos  have 
disappeared,  even  like  the  Moors  from  the  Morerias .”  But 
Mr.  Borrow  himself,  in  the  same  work,  gives  a  good  reason 
for  the  disappearance  of  the  Gipsies  from  these  Gitanerias  ; 
for  he  says  :  “  The  Gitanerias  were  soon  considered  as  public 
nuisances,  on  which  account  the  Gitanos  were  forbidden  to 
live  together  in  particular  parts  of  the  town,  to  hold  meet¬ 
ings,  and  even  to  intermarry  with  each  other.”  If  the  dis¬ 
appearance  of  the  Gipsies  from  Spain  was  like  that  of  the 
Moors,  it  would  appear  that  they  had  left,  or  been  expelled 
from,  the  country  ;  a  theory  which  Mr.  Borrow  does  not  ad¬ 
vance.  The  Gipsies,  to  a  certain  extent,  may  have  left  these 
barriers,  or  been  expelled  from  them,  and  settled,  as  trades¬ 
men,  mechanics,  and  what  not,  in  other  parts  of  the  same  or 
other  towns  ;  so  as  to  be  in  a  position  the  more  able  to  get 
on  in  the  world.  Still,  many  of  them  are  in  the  colonies. 
In  Cuba  there  are  many,  as  soldiers  and  musicians,  dealers 
in  mules  and  red  pepper,  which  businesses  they  almost 
monopolize,  and  jobbers  and  dealers  in  various  wares  ;  and 
doubtless  there  are  some  of  them  innkeepers,  and  others 
following  other  occupations.  In  Mexico  there  are  not  a  few. 
1  know  of  a  Gitano  who  has  a  fine  wholesale  and  retail  cigar 
store  in  Virginia.* 

*  In  Ohnstead's  “  Journey  in  the  Seaboard  Slave  States”  it  is  stated,  that 
in  Alexandria,  Louisiana,  when  under  the  Spanish  rule,  there  were  “  French, 
and  Spanish,  Egyptians  and  Indians,  Mulattoes  and  Negroes.”  This  author 
reports  a  conversation  which  he  had  with  a  planter,  by  which  it  appears 


390 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Mr.  Borrow  concludes,  in  regard  to  the  Spanish  Gipsies, 
thus  :  We  have  already  expressed  our  belief  that  the  caste 
lias  diminished  of  latter  years  ;  whether  this  diminution  was 
the  result  of  one  or  many  causes  combined  ;  of  a  partial 
change  of  habits,  of  pestilence  or  sickness,  of  war  or 
famine,  or  of  a  freer  intercourse  with  the  /Spanish  population , 
we  have  no  means  of  determining,  and  shall  abstain  from 
offering  conjectures  on  the  subject.”  In  this  way  does  he 
leave  the  question  just  where  he  found  it.  Is  there  any 
reason  to  doubt  that  Gipsydom  is  essentially  the  same  in 
Spain  as  in  Great  Britain  ;  or  that  its  future  will  be  guided 
by  any  other  principles  than  those  which  regulate  that  of 
the  British  Gipsies?  Indeed,  I  am  astonished  that  Mr. 
Borrow  should  advance  the  idea  that  Gipsies  should  decrease 
by  “  changing  their  habits  they  might  not  encrease  so  fast, 
in  a  settled  life,  as  when  more  exposed  to  the  air,  and  not 
molested  by  the  Spanish  Government.  I  am  no  less  aston¬ 
ished  that  he  should  think  they  would  decrease  by  “  a  freer 
intercourse  with  the  Spanish  population  when,  in  fact, 
such  mixtures  are  well  known  to  go  with  the  Gipsies  ;  the 
mixture  being,  in  the  estimation  of  the  British  Gipsies,  cal¬ 
culated  to  strengthen  and  invigorate  the  race  itself.  Had 
Mr.  Borrow  kept  in  mind  the  case  of  the  half-blood  Gipsy 
captain,  he  could  have  had  no  difficulty  in  learning  what 
became  of  mixed  Gipsies.* 

that  these  Egyptians  came  from  “  some  of  the  Northern  Islands  that  they 
spoke  a  language  among  themselves,  but  could  talk  French  and  Spanish 
too  ;  that  they  were  black,  but  not  very  black,  and  as  good  citizens  as  any, 
and  passed  for  white  folk.  The  planter  believed  they  married  mostly  with 
mulattoes,  and  that  a  good  many  of  the  mulattoes  had  Egyptian  blood  in 
them  too.  He  believed  these  Egyptians  had  disappeared  since  the  State 
became  part  of  the  Union.  Mr.  Oimstead  remarks:  “The  Egyptians  were 
probably  Spanish  Gipsies,  though  I  have  never  heard  of  any  of  them  be¬ 
ing  in  America  in  any  other  way.” 

*  Mr.  Borrow  surely  cannot  mean  that  a  Gipsy  ceases  to  be  a  Gipsy, 
when  he  settles  down,  and  “  turns  over  a  new  leaf and  that  this  “  change 
of  habits”  changes  his  descent,  blood,  appearance,  language  and  nationality  1 
What,  then,  does  he  mean,  when  he  says,  that  the  Spanish  Gipsies  have  de¬ 
creased  by  “  a  partial  change  of  habits  ?” 

And  does  an  infusion  of  Spanish  blood,  implied  in  a  “  freer  intercourse 
with  the  Spanish  population,”  lead  to  tiie  Gipsy  element  being  wiped  out; 
or  does  it  lead  to  the  Spanish  feeling  being  lost  in  Gipsydom  ?  Which  is 
the  element  to  be  operated  upon — the  Spanish  or  the  Gipsy  ?  Which  is  the 
leaven  ?  The  Spanish  element  is  the  passive,  the  Gipsy  the  active.  As  a 
question  of  philosophy,  the  most  simple  of  comprehension,  and,  above  all, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  the  foreign  element  introduced,  in  detail,  into  the  body 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


391 


It  doubtless  holds  in  Spain,  as  in  Great  Britain,  that  as 
the  Gipsy  enters  into  settled  life,  and  engages  in  a  respect¬ 
able  calling,  he  hides  his  descent,  and  even  mixes  his  blood 
with  that  of  tlie  country,  and  becomes  ashamed  of  the  name 
before  the  public  ;  but  is  as  much,  at  heart,  a  Gipsy,  as  any 
others  of  his  race.  And  this  theory  is  borne  out  by  Mr. 
Borrow  himself,  when  lie  speaks  of  “  the  unwillingness  of 
the  Spanish  Gipsies  to  utter,  when  speaking  of  themselves, 
the  detested  expression  Gitano ;  a  word  which  seldom  es¬ 
capes  their  mouths.”  We  might  therefore  conclude,  that 
the  Spanish  Gipsies,  with  the  exception  of  the  more  original 
and  bigoted  stock,  would  hide  tlieir  nationality  from  the  com¬ 
mon  Spaniards,  and  so  escape  their  notice.  It  is  not  at  all 
likely  that  the  half-pay  Gipsy  captain  would  mention  to  the 
public  that  he  was  a  Gipsy,  although  he  admitted  it  to  Mr. 
Borrow,  under  the  peculiar  circumstances  in  which  he  met 
him.  My  Spanish  acquaintance  informs  me  that  the  Gitanos, 
generally,  hide  their  nationality  from  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Such  a  case  is  evidently  told  by  Mr.  Borrow,  in  the  vaga¬ 
bond  Gipsy,  Antonio,  at  Badajoz,  who  termed  a  rich  Gipsy, 
living  in  the  same  town,  a  hog,  because  he  evidently  would 
not  countenance  him.  Antonio  may  possibly  have  been 
kicked  out  of  his  house,  in  attempting  to  entor  it.  He  ac¬ 
cused  him  of  having  married  a  Spaniard,  and  of  fain  attempt¬ 
ing  to  pass  himself  for  a  Spaniard.  As  regards  the  wife, 
she  might  have  been  a  Gipsy  with  very  little  of  “  the  blood” 
in  her  veins  ;  or  a  Spaniard,  reared  by  Gipsies  ;  or  an  ordi¬ 
nary  Spanish  maiden,  to  whom  the  Gipsy  would  teach  his 
language,  as  sometimes  happens  among  the  English  Gipsies. 
Ilis  wishing  to  pass  for  a  Spaniard  had  nothing  to  do  with 
his  being,  but  not  wishing  to  be  known  as,  a  Gipsy.  The 
same  is  done  by  almost  all  our  Scottish  Gipsies.  In  Eng¬ 
land,  those  who  do  not  follow  the  tent — I  mean  the  more 
mixed  and  better  class — are  even  afraid  of  each  other. 
“  Afraid  of  what  ?”  said  I,  to  such  an  English  Gipsy  ; 
“  ashamed  of  being  Gipsies  ?”  “  No,  sir,”  (with  great  em¬ 
phasis  ;)  “  not  ashamed  of  being  Gipsies,  but  of  being  known 

of  Gipsydom,  goes  with  that  body,  and,  in  feeling,  becomes  incorporated 
with  it,  although,  in  physical  appearance,  it  changes  the  Gijjsy  race,  so 
that  it  becomes  “  confounded  with  the  residue  of  the  population,”  but  re¬ 
mains  Gipsy,  as  before.  A  Spanish  Gipsy  is  a  Spaniard  as  he  stands,  and 
it  would  be  hard  to  say  wha1  wc  should  ask  him  to  do,  to  become  more  a 
Spaniard  than  he  is  already. 


892 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


to  other  'people  as  Gipsies.”  “  A  world  of  difference,”  I  re¬ 
plied.  What  does  the  world  hold  to  be  a  Gipsy ,  and  what 
does  it  hold  to  be  the  feelings  of  a  man  ?  If  we  consider 
these  two  questions,  we  can  have  little  difficulty  in  under¬ 
standing’  the  wish  of  such  Gipsies  to  disguise  themselves. 
It  is  in  this  way,  and  in  the  mixing  of  the  blood,  that  this 
so-called  “  dying  out  of  the  Gipsies”  is  to  be  accounted 
for.'* 

It  is  singular  that  Mr.  Borrow  should  attribute  the  change 
which  has  come  over  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  so  much  to  the 
law  passed  by  Charles  III.  in  1783  ;  and  that  he  should 
characterize  it  as  an  enlightened,  wise,  and  liberal  law  ;  dis¬ 
tinguished  by  justice  and  clemency  ;  and  as  being  calculated 
to  exert  considerable  influence  over  the  destiny  of  the  race  ; 
nay,  as  being  the  principal,  if  not  the  only,  cause  for  the 
“  decline”  of  it  in  Spain.  It  was  headed  :  “  Rules  for  repress¬ 
ing.  and  chastising  the  vagrant  mode  of  life,  and  other  ex¬ 
cesses,  of  those  who  are  called  Gitanos.”  Article  II.  forbids, 
under  penalties,  the  Gipsies  “  using  their  language,  dress,  or 
vagrant  kind  of  life,  which  they  had  hitherto  followed.” 
Article  XI.  prohibits  them  from  “  wandering  about  the 
roads  and  uninhabited  places,  even  with  the  pretext  of 
visiting  marPets  and  fairs.”  Article  IX.  reads  thus :  “  Those 
who  have  abandoned  the  dress,  name,  language  or  jargon, 
associations  and  manners  of  Gitanos,  and  shall  have,  more¬ 
over,  chosen  and  established  a  domicile,  but  shall  not  have 
devoted  themselves  to  any  office  or  employment,  though  it 
be  only  that  of  day-labourer,  shall  be  proceeded  against  as 
common  vagrants.”  Articles  XYI.  and  XVII.  enact,  that 
“  the  children,  and  young  people  of  both  sexes,  who  are  not 
above  sixteen  years  of  age,  shall  be  separated  from  their 
parents,  ivho  wander  about  and  have  no  employment,  [which 
was  forbidden  by  the  law  itself,]  and  shall  be  destined  to 
learn  something,  or  shall  be  placed  out  in  hospices  or  houses 
of  instruction.”  Article  XX.  dooms  to  death ,  ivithout  remis- 


*  Mr.  Borrow  mentions,  in  the  twenty-second  chapter  of  the  “  Bible  in 
Spain,”  having  met  several  cavalry  soldiers  from  Granada,  Gipsies  incog, 
who  were  surprised  at  being  discovered  to  be  Gipsies.  They  had  been  im¬ 
pressed,  but  carried  on  a  trade  in  horses,  in  league  with  the  captain  of  their 
company.  They  said  :  “  We  have  been  to  the  wars,  but  not  to  fight ;  we  left 
that  to  the  Busnd.  We  have  kept  together,  and  like  true  Calore,  have  stood 
back  to  back.  We  have  made  money  in  the  wars.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


393 


,s ion,  Gipsies  who ,  for  the  second  time ,  relapse  into  their  old 
habits. 

I  cannot  agree  with  Mr.  Borrow,  when  he  says,  that  this 
lawr  '■  differs  in  character ”  from  any  which  had  hitherto  been 
enacted,  in  connection  with  the  body  in  Spain,  if  I  take 
those  preceding  it,  as  given  by  himself.  The  only  difference 
between  it  and  some  of  the  previous  laws  is,  that  it  allowed 
the  Gipsy  to  be  admitted  to  whatever  office  or  employment 
to  which  he  might  apply  himself,  and  likewise  to  any  guilds 
or  communities  ;  but  it  prohibited  him  from  settling  in  the 
capital,  or  any  of  the  royal  residences  ;  and  forbade  him,  on 
pain  of  death ,  to  publicly  profess  what  he  was — that  is,  a 
Gipsy.  With  the  trifling  exceptions  mentioned,  the  law  of 
Charles  III.  was  as  foolish  a  one  as  ever  wras  passed 
against  the  Gipsies.  These  very  exceptions  show  what  the 
letter,  whatever  the  execution,  of  previous  laws  must  have 
been.  Nor  can  we  form  any  opinion  as  to  the  effects  the 
law  in  question  had  upon  the  Gipsies,  unless  we  know  how 
it  was  carried  out.  The  law  of  the  Empress  Maria  Theresa 
produced  no  effect  upon  the  Gipsies  in  Hungary.  “  In  Hun¬ 
gary,”  says  Mr.  Borrow,  “  two  classes  are  free  to  do  what 
they  please — the  nobility  and  the  Gipsies — the  one  above 
the  law,  the  other  below  it.”  And  what  did  Mr.  Borrow 
find  the  Gipsies  in  Hungary?  In  England,  the  last  instances 
of  condemnation,  under  the  old  sanguinary  laws,  happened 
a  few  years  before  the  Restoration,  although  these  wmre  not 
repealed  till  23d  Geo.  III.,  c.  54.  The  Gipsies  in  England 
can  follow  any  employment,  common  to  the  ordinary  natives, 
they  please :  and  how  has  Mr.  Borrow  described  them 
there?  In  Scotland,  the  tribe  have  been  allowed  to  do 
nothing,  not  even  acknowledge  their  existence,  as  Gipsies  : 
and  this  work  describes  what  they  are  in  that  country. 

Instead  of  the  law  of  Charles  III.  exercising  any  great 
beneficial  influence  over  the  character  of  the  Spanish  Gip¬ 
sies,  I  would  attribute  the  change  in  question  to  what  Mr. 
Borrow  himself  says  :  “  It  must  be  remembered  that  during 
the  last  seventy  years,  a  revolution  has  been  progressing  in 
Spain,  slowly  it  is  true  ;  and  such  a  revolution  may  have 
affected  the  Gitanos.”  The  Spanish  Gipsy  proverb,  “  Money 
is  to  be  found  in  the  town,  not  in  the  country,”  has  had  its  in¬ 
fluence  on  bringing  the  race  to  settle  in  towns.  And  by  resid¬ 
ing  in  towns,  and  not  being  persecuted,  they  have,  in  Mr.  Bor- 


894 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


row’s  own  words,  “  insensibly  become  more  civilized  than  tlieir 
ancestors,  and  their  habits  and  manners  less  ferocious.”  The 
only  good  which  the  law  of  Charles  III.  seems  to  have  done 
to  the  Spanish  Gipsies  was,  as  already  said,  to  permit  them 
to  follow'  any  occupation,  and  be  admitted  to  any  guilds,  or 
communities,  (barring  the  capital,  and  royal  residences,)  they 
pleased  ;  but  only  on  the  condition,  and  that  on  the  pain  of 
death ,  that  they  renounced  every  imaginable  thing  connected 
with  their  tribe ;  which,  wre  may  reasonably  assume,  no 
Gipsy  submitted  to,  however  much  in  appearance  he  might 
have  done  so. 

But  it  is  doubtful  if  the  law  of  Charles  III.  was  anything 
but  the  one  which  it  was  customary  for  every  Spanish  mon¬ 
arch  to  issue  against  the  tribe.  Mr.  Borrow  says  :  “  Per¬ 
haps  there  is  no  country  in  which  more  laws  have  been 
framed,  having  in  view  the  suppression  and  extinction  of 
the  Gipsy  name,  race,  and  manner  of  life,  than  Spain.  Every 
monarch,  during  a  period  of  three  hundred  years,  appears, 
at  his  accession  to  the  throne,  to  have  considered  that  one 
of  his  first  and  most  imperative  duties  consisted  in  suppress¬ 
ing  and  checking  the  robberies,  frauds,  and  other  enormities 
of  the  Gitanos,  with  which  the  whole  country  seems  to  have 
resounded  since  the  time  of  their  first  appearance.”  The 
fact  of  so  many  laws  being  passed  against  the  Gipsies,  is,  to 
my  mind,  ample  proof,  as  1  shall  afterwards  explain,  that 
few,  if  any,  of  them  were  put,  to  any  extent,  in  force ;  and 
that  the  act  in  question,  viewed  in  itself,  as  distinct  from  the 
laws  previously  in  existence,  was  little  more  than  a  form.  It 
contains  a  flourish  of  liberality,  implied  in  the  Gitanos  be¬ 
ing  allowed  to  enter,  if  they  pleased,  any  guilds,  (which  they 
were  not  likely  to  do,)  or  communities,  (where  they  were 
doubtless  already  ;)  but  it  debars,  (that  is,  expels,)  them  from 
the  king’s  presence,  at  the  capital  or  any  of  the  royal  resi¬ 
dences.  Moreover,  it  allowed  the  Gitano  to  be  “  admitted  to 
whatever  office  or  employment  to  which  he  might  apply  him¬ 
self,”  (against  which,  there  probably  was,  or  should  have 
been,  no  law  in  existence.)  His  majesty  must  also  impose 
his  pragmatical  conceit  upon  his  loyal  subjects,  by  telling 
them,  that  ‘‘Gitanos  are  not  Gitanos” — that  they  “  do  not 
proceed  from  any  infected  root and  threaten  them,  that  if 
they  maintain  the  contrary,  and  call  them  Gitanos,  he  will 
have  them  punished  for  slander ! 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


395 


The  Gipsies,  after  a  residence  of  350  years  in  the  coun¬ 
try,  would  have  comparatively  little  notice  taken  of  them, 
under  this  law,  except  when  they  made  themselves  really 
obnoxious,  or  gave  an  official  an  occasion  to  display  his 
authority,  or  his  zeal  for  the  public  service.*  Whatever  may 
have  been  the  treatment  which  the  Gipsies  experienced  at 
the  hands  of  the  civil  authorities,  the  church  does  not  seem 
to  have  disturbed,  and  far  less  distressed,  them.  Mr.  Bor¬ 
row  represents  a  priest  of  Cordova,  formerly  an  Inquisitor, 
saying  to  him  :  “  I  am  not  aware  of  one  case  of  a  Gitano 
having  been  tried  or  punished  by  the  Inquisition.  The  In¬ 
quisition  always  looked  upon  them  with  too  much  contempt, 
to  give  itself  the  slightest  trouble  concerning  them  ;  for,  as 
no  danger,  either  to  the  State  or  to  the  Church  of  Rome, 
could  proceed  from  the  Gitanos,  it  was  a  matter  of  perfect 
indifference  to  the  holy  office  whether  they  lived  without  re¬ 
ligion  or  not.  The  holy  office  has  always  reserved  its  anger 
for  people  very  different  ;  the  Gitano  having,  at  all  times, 
been  Geute  harrata  y  de.spreciahlc 

Should  the  Spanish  Gipsies  not  now  assist  each  other,  to 
the  extent  they  did  when  banditti,  under  the  special  pro¬ 
scription  of  the  Government,  it  would  be  absurd  to  say  that 
they  were  therefore  not  as  much  Gipsies  as  ever  they  were. 
The  change  in  this  respect  arose,  to  some  extent,  from  the 
toleration  extended  to  them,  as  a  people  and  as  individu¬ 
als,  whether  by  the  law,  or  society  in  general.  Such  Gip¬ 
sies  as  Mr.  Borrow  seems  to  have  associated  with,  in  Spain, 
were  not  likely  to  be  very  reliable  authority  ou  the  ques¬ 
tions  at  issue  ;  for  he  has  described  them  as  “  being  endowed 
with  a  kind  of  instinct,  (in  lieu  of  reason,)  which  assists  them 
to  a  very  limited  extent,  and  no  further.” 

Might  it  not  be  in  Spain  as  in  Great  Britain  ?  Even  in 
England,  those  that  pass  for  Gipsies  are  few  in  number, 
compared  to  the  mixed  Gipsies,  following  various  occupa¬ 
tions  ;  for  a  large  part  of  the  Gipsy  blood  in  England  has, 
as  it  were,  been  spread  over  a  large  surface  of  the  white.  In 
Scotland  it  is  almost  altogether  so.  There  seems  considcr- 

*  It  would  seem  that  the  law  in  Spain,  in  regard  to  the  Gipsies,  stands 
pretty  much  where  it  did — that  is,  the  people  are,  in  a  sense,  tolerated,  but 
that  the  use  of  their  language  is  prohibited,  as  may  be  gathered  from  an 
incident  mentioned  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  the  "  Bible  in  Spain,’’  by  Mr. 
Borrrw. 


396 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


able  reason  for  believing  that  Gipsydom  is,  perhaps,  as  much 
mixed  in  Spain  as  in  Great  Britain,  although  Mr.  Borrow 
lias  taken  no  notice  of  it.  We  have  seen,  (page  92.)  how 
severe  an  enactment  was  passed  by  Queen  Elizabeth,  against 
“  any  person,  whether  natural  born  or  stranger,  to  be  seen 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  Gipsies,  or  disguised  like  them.”  In 
the  law  of  Ferdinand  and  Isabella,  the  first  passed  against 
the  Gipsies,  in  Spain,  a  class  of  people  is  mentioned,  in  con¬ 
junction  with  them,  but  distinguished  from  them,  by  the 
name  of  “  foreign  tinkers.”  Philip  III.,  at  Belan,  in  Portu¬ 
gal,  in  1619,  commands  all  Gipsies  to  quit  the  kingdom 
within  six  months.  “  Those  who  should  wish  to  remain  are 
to  establish  themselves  in  cities,  and  are  not  to  be  allowed 
to  use  the  dress,  name,  and  language,  in  order,  that  foras¬ 
much  as  they  are  not  such  by  nation,  (!)  this  name,  and  man¬ 
ner  of  life,  may  be  for  evermore  confounded  and  forgotten(l)” 
Philip  IV.,  on  the  8th  May,  1633,  declares  “that  they  are 
not  Gipsies  by  origin  or  nature,  but  have  adopted  this  form 
of  life  (!)”  This  idea  of  “  Gitanos  not  being  Gitanos,  and 
not  proceeding  from  any  infected  root,”  was  not  original 
with  Charles  III.,  in  1183  ;  his  proclamation  having  been  in 
formal  keeping  with  previous  ones,  whether  of  his  own 
country,  or,  as  in  Scotland,  in  1603,  “  recommended  by  the 
example  of  some  other  realm,”  (page  111.)  There  had  evi¬ 
dently  been  a  great  curiosity  to  know  who  some  of  the  “  not 
Gipsies  by  origin  and  nature,”  (evidently  judging  from  their 
appearance,)  could  be  ;  for  Philip  IV.  enacts,  “  that  they 
shall,  within  two  months,  leave  the  quarters  where  now  they 
live  toith  the  denomination  of  Gitanos,  and  that  they  shall 
separate  from  each  other,  and  mingle  with  the  other  inhabi¬ 
tants  :  tli at  the  ministers  of  justice  are  to  observe,  with  par¬ 
ticular  diligence,  whether  they  hold  communication  with  each 
other,  or  marry  among  themselves .” 

The  “  foreign  tinkers”  mentioned  in  the  Act  of  Ferdi¬ 
nand  and  Isabella,  and  the  individuals  distinguished  from 
the  Gipsies  in  that  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  were  doubtless  mixed 
Gipsies  ;  .  whose  relationship  with  the  Gipsies  proper,  and 
isolation  from  the  common  natives,  are  very  distinctly  pointed 
out  in  the  above  extract  from  the  law  of  Philip  IV.  Mr. 
Borrow  expresses  a  great  difficulty  to  understand  who  these 
people  could  be,  if  not  Gipsies.  How  easy  it  is  to  get  quit 
of  the  difficulty,  by  concluding  that  they  were  Gipsies  whose 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


397 


blood,  perhaps  for  the  most  part,  was  native  ;  and  who  had 
been  brought  into  the  body  in  the  manner  explained  in  the 
Preface  to  this  work,  and  more  fully  illustrated  in  this  Dis¬ 
quisition.  If  Mr.  Borrow  found  in  Spain  a  half-pay  captain, 
in  the  service  of  Donna  Isabel,  with  flaxen  hair,  a  thorough 
Gipsy ,  who  spoke  Gipsy  and  Latin,  with  great  fluency,  and 
his  cousin,  Jara,  in  all  probability  another  Gipsy,  what  diffi¬ 
culty  can  there  be  in  believing  that  the  “  foreign  tinkers,” 
or  tinkers  of  any  kind,  now  to  be  met  with  in  Spain,  are, 
like  the  same  class  in  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  Gipsies  of 
mixed  blood?  Indeed,  the  young  Spaniard,  to  whom  I  have 
alluded,  informs  me  that  the  Gipsies  in  Spain  are  very  much 
mixed.  Mr.  Borrow  himself  admits  that  the  Gipsy  blood  in 
Spain  has  been  mixed  ;  for,  in  speaking  of  the  old  Gipsy 
counts,  he  says  :  “  It  was  the  counts  who  determined  what  in¬ 
dividuals  were  to  be  admitted  into  the  fellowship  and  privi¬ 
leges  of  the  Gitanos . They  (the  Gipsies)  were  m 

not  to  teach  the  language  to  any  but  those  who,  by  birth  or 
inauguration,  belonged  to  that  sect.”  And  he  gives  a 
case  in  point,  in  the  bookseller  of  Logrono,  who  was  mar¬ 
ried  to  the  only  daughter  of  a  Gitano  count ;  upon  whose 
death,  the  daughter  and  son-in-law  succeeded  to  the  author¬ 
ity  which  he  had  exercised  in  the  tribe.  If  the  Gipsies  in 
Spain  were  not  mixed  in  point  of  blood,  why  should  they 
have  taken  Mr.  Borrow  for  a  Gipsy,  as  he  said  they  did  ? 
The  persecutions  to  which  the  race  in  Spain  were  subjected 
were  calculated  to  lead  to  a  mixture  of  the  blood,  as  in 
Scotland,  for  the  reasons  given  in  the  Preface  ;  but,  perhaps, 
not  to  the  same  extent ;  as  the  Spanish  Acts  seem  to  have 
given  the  tribe  an  opportunity  of  escape,  under  the  condi¬ 
tion  of  settling,  &c.,  &c.,  which  would  probably  be  complied 
with,,  nominally,  for  the  time  being  ;  while  the  face  of  part 
of  the  country  would  afford  a  refuge  till  the  storm  had 
blown  over.  (See  pages  71  and  114.) 

It  is  very  likely  that  the  following  people,  described  by 
Paget,  in  his  travels  in  Central  Europe,  are  mixed  Gipsies, 
lie  says  :  “  In  almost  every  part  of  the  Austrian  dominions 
are  to  be  found  a  kind  of  wandering  tinkers,  wire-workers, 
and  menders  of  crockery,  whose  language  appears  to  be 
that  of  the  Sclaves,  who  travel  about,  and,  at  certain  sea¬ 
sons,  return  to  their  own  settlements,  where  the  women  and 
children  remain  during  their  absence.”  The  wandering 


398 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Rothwelsh,  perhaps  the  same  mentioned  by  Paget,  may  be 
mixed  Gipsies.  In  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica  they  are 
spoken  of  as  “  a  vagabond  people,  in  the  south  of  Germany, 
who  have  sometimes  been  confounded  with  the  Gipsies.” 
The  appearance  of  such  persons  has  nothing  to  do  with 
their  being,  or  not  being,  members  of  Gipsydom." 

I  will  now  consider  the  present  condition  of  the  Scottish 
Gipsies.  But,  to  commence  with,  what  is  the  native  capacity 
of  a  Gipsy  ?  It  is  good.  Take  a  common  tinkering  Gipsy, 
without  a  particle  of  education,  and  compare  him  with  a 
common  native,  without  a  particle  of  education,  and  the  tin¬ 
ker,  in  point  of  smartness,  is  worth,  perhaps,  a  dozen  of  the 
other.  If  not  a  learned,  he  is  at  least  a  travelled,  Athenian, 
considerably  rubbed  up  by  his  intercourse  with  the  world. 
This  is  the  proper  way  by  which  to  judge  of  the  capacity 
of  a  Gipsy.  It  will  differ  somewhat  according  to  the  coun¬ 
tries  and  circumstances  in  which  he  is  found.  Grellmann, 
about  the  year  1780,  says,  of  evidently  the  more  original 
kind  of  Hungarian  Gipsies  :  “  Imagine  a  people  of  childish 
thoughts,  whose  minds  are  filled  with  raw,  undigested  con¬ 
ceptions,  guided  more  by  sense  than  reason,  and  using  under¬ 
standing  and  reflection  only  so  far  as  they  promote  the 
gratification  of  any  particular  appetite  ;  and  you  have  a 
perfect  sketch  of  the  general  character  of  the  Gipsies.” 
“  They  are  lively,  uncommonly  loquacious,  fickle  to  an  ex¬ 
treme  ;  consequently,  inconstant  in  their  pursuits.”  Bischoff, 
in  speaking  of  the  German  Gipsies,  in  1827,  says  :  “They 
have  a  good  understanding,  an  excellent  memory,  are  quick 
of  comprehension,  lively  and  talkative.”  Mr.  Borrow,  in 
evident  allusion  to  the  very  lowest,  and  most  ignorant,  class 
of  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  says  :  “  They  seem  to  hunt  for  their 
bread,  as  if  they  were  not  of  the  human,  but  rather  of  the 
animal,  species,  and,  in  lieu  of  reason,  were  endowed  with  a 
kind  of  instinct,  which  assists  them  to  a  very  limited  ex¬ 
tent,  and  no  further.”  I  admit  that  this  class  of  Gipsies 
may  have  as  little  intellect  as  there  is  in  an  ant-catcher’s 
nose,  but  the  remark  can  apply  to  them  exclusively. 

Without  taking  into  account  any  opinion  expressed  by 
other  writers  on  the  Gipsies,  Mr.  Borrow  says  :  “  Should  it 

*  Paget  says  these  tinkers  leave  their  women  and  children  at  home  when 
on  their  travels.  That  is  not  customary  with  the  tribe,  although  it  may 
be  their  habit  in  the  Austrian  dominions. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


399 


be  urged  that  certain  individuals  have  found  them  very  dif¬ 
ferent  from  what  they  are  represented  in  these  volumes, 
(‘The  Gipsies  in  Spain/)  he  would  frankly  say  that  he 
yields  no  credit  to  the  presumed  fact.”  And  he  refers  his 
readers  to  his  Spanish-Gipsy  vocabulary  for  the  words  hoax 
and  hocus,  as  a  reason  for  sucli  an  opinion !  He  himself 
gives  descriptions  of  quite  a  different  caste.  For  example, 
lie  speaks  of  a  rich  Gipsy  appearing  in  a  fair,  at  Leon,  in 
Spain,  with  a  twenty  thousand  dollar  credit  in  his  pocket. 
And  of  another  Gipsy,  a  native  of  Constantinople,  who  had 
visited  the  most  remote  and  remarkable  portions  of  the  world, 
“  passing  over  it  like  a  cloud  ;”  and  who  spoke  several  dia¬ 
lects  of  the  Malay,  and  understood  the  original  language  of 
Java.  This  Gipsy,  he  says,  dealt  in  precious  stones  and 
poisons  ;  and  that  there  is  scarcely  a  bey  or  satrap  in  Persia, 
or  Turkey,  whom  he  has  not  supplied  with  both.  In  Mos¬ 
cow,  he  says,  “  There  are  not  a  few  who  inhabit  stately 
houses,  go  abroad  in  elegant  equipages,  and  are  behind  the 
higher  orders  of  the  Russians,  neither  in  appearance  nor 
mental  acquirements.”  From  these  specimens,  one  might 
naturally  conclude  that  there  was  some  room  for  discrimi¬ 
nation  among  different  classes  of  Gipsies,  instead  of  rating 
them  as  having  the  intellect  of  ant-catchers. 

When  the  Gipsies  appeared  in  Scotland,  the  natives  them¬ 
selves,  as  I  have  already  said,  were  nearly  wholly  unedu¬ 
cated.  Many  of  the  Gipsies,  then,  and  long  afterwards, 
being  smart,  presumptuous,  overbearing,  audacious  fellows, 
seem  to  have  assumed  great  importance,  and  been  looked 
upon  as  no  small  people  by  the  authorities  and  the  inhabit¬ 
ants  of  the  country.  In  every  country  in  which  they  have 
settled,  they  seem  to  have  instinctively  and  very  readily 
appreciated  the  ways  and  spirit  of  the  people,  while,  at  the 
same  time,  they  preserved  what  belonged  particularly  to 
themselves — their  Gipsyism.  Gipsydom  being,  in  its  very 
essence,  a  “working  in  among  other  people,”  “a  people 
within  a  people,”  it  followed,  that  marriages  between  adopted 
Gipsies,  and  even  Gipsies  themselves,  and  the  ordinary  na¬ 
tives,  would  be  encouraged,  were  it  only  to  contribute  to 
their  existence  in  the  couutry.  The  issue  of  such  marriages, 
go  where  they  might,  would  become  centres  of  little  Gipsy 
circles,  which,  in  their  turn,  would  throw  off  members  that 
would  become  the  centres  of  other  little  Gipsy  circles  ;  the 


400 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


leaven  of  Gipsydom  leavening  into  a  lump  everything  that 
proceeded  out  of  itself.  To  such  an  extent  lias  this  been 
followed,  that,  at  the  present  day,  the  Scottish  Gipsies — at 
least  the  generality  of  them — have  every  outward  charac¬ 
teristic  of  Scotchmen.  But  the  secret  of  being  Gipsies, 
which  they  carry  in  their  bosoms,  makes  them  appear  a  little 
queer  to  others  ;  they  have  a  something  about  them  that 
makes  them  look  somewhat  odd  to  the  other  Scotchman,  who 
is  not  “  one  of  them,”  although  he  does  not  know  the  cause 
of  it. 

Upon,  or  shortly  after,  their  arrival,  they  seem  to  have 
divided  the  country  among  themselves  ;  each  tribe  exercis¬ 
ing  its  rights  over  its  own  territory,  to  the  exclusion  of 
others,  just  as  a  native  lord  would  have  done  against  other 
natives  ;  with  a  system  of  passes,  regulated  by  councils  of 
local  or  provincial  chieftains,  and  a  king  over  all.  The 
Scottish  Gipsies,  from  the  very  first,  seem  to  have  been 
thoroughly  versed  in  their  vocation,  from  having  had  about 
a  hundred  years’  experience,  in  some  other  part  of  Europe, 
before  they  settled  in  Scotland  ;  although  stragglers  of  their 
race  evidently  had  made  their  appearance  in  the  country 
many  years  before.  What  might  have  been  the  number  of 
Gipsies  then  in  Scotland,  it  is  impossible  to  conjecture  ;  it 
must  have  been  considerable,  if  we  judge  from  what  is  said 
in  Wraxall’s  History  of  France,  vol.  2,  page  32,  when,  in 
reference  to  the  Act  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  1563,  he  states, 
that,  in  her  reign,  the  Gipsies  throughout  England  were  sup¬ 
posed  to  exceed  ten  thousand.  The  employments  of  the 
original  Gipsies,  within  their  respective  districts,  seem  to 
have  been  what  is  described  under  the  head  of  Tweed-dale 
and  Clydesdale  Gipsies ;  that  is,  tinkering,  making  spoons 
and  other  wares,  petty  trading,  telling  fortunes,  living  as 
much  as  possible  at  free-quarters,  dealing  in  horses,  and 
visiting  fairs.  It  is  extremely  likely  that  those  who  trav¬ 
elled  Tweed-dale,  for  example,  always  averaged  about  the 
same  number,  down  to  the  time  of  the  American  Revolution, 
(except  in  times  of  civil  commotion,  when  they  would  have 
the  country  pretty  much  to  themselves,)  and  were  confined 
to  such  of  the  families  of  the  respective  tribes,  or  the  mem¬ 
bers  of  these  families,  in  whom  the  right  was  hereditary. 
The  consequence  seems  to  have  been,  that  perhaps  the 
younger  members  of  the  family  had  to  betake  themselves  to 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


401 


towns  and  villages,  and  engage  in  whatever  they  could  pos¬ 
sibly  turn  their  hands  to.  Some  would,  of  course,  take  to 
the  highway,  and  kindred  fields  of  industry.  Admitting 
that  the  circumstances  attending  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  at 
that  time,  and  subsequently,  were  the  same,  as  regards  the 
manner  of  making  a  living,  which  attend  those  in  England, 
at  the  present  day,  (with  this  difference,  that  they  could 
more  easily  roam  at  large  then  than  now,)  and  we  can  have 
no  difficulty  in  coming  to  a  conclusion  how  the  surplus  of 
the  tented  Gipsy  population  was  disposed  of.  Among  the 
English  Gipsies  of  to-day,  taking  year  with  year,  and  tent 
with  tent,  there  is,  yearly,  a  continual  moving  out  of  the  tent ; 
a  kind  of  Gipsy  crop  is  annually  gathered  from  tented  Gip- 
sydom  ;  and  some  of  these  gradually  find  themselves  drawn 
into  almost  every  kind  of  mechanical  or  manual  labour,  even 
to  working  in  coal-mines  and  iron-works  ;  others  become 
peddlers,  itinerant  auctioneers,  and  tramps  of  almost  every 
imaginable  kind  ;  not  to  speak  of  those  who  visit  fairs,  in 
various  capacities,  or  engage  in  various  settled  traffic. 

Put  a  Gipsy  to  any  occupation  you  like,  and  he  shows  a 
capability  and  handiness  that  is  astonishing,  if  he  can  only 
muster  up  steadiness  in  his  new  vocation.  But  it  is  difficult 
to  break  him  off  the  tent ;  he  will  return,  and  lounge,  for 
weeks  together,  about  that  of  his  father,  or  some  other  rela¬ 
tive.  But  get  him  fairly  out  of  the  tent,  married,  and,  in  a 
degree,  settled  to  some  occupation,  in  a  town  where  there 
are  not  too  many  of  his  own  race  in  close  proximity  to  him, 
but  where  he  gets  mixed  up,  in  his  daily  avocation,  with  tho 
common  natives,  and  he  sooner  or  later  falls  into  the  ranks. 
Still,  his  intimate  associations  are  always  with  Gipsies  ;  for 
his  ardent  attachment  to 'his  people,  and  a  corresponding 
resentment  of  the  prejudice  that  exists  against  it,  keep  him 
aloof  from  any  intimate  intercourse  with  the  ordinary  in¬ 
habitants  ;  his  associations  with  them  hardly  ever  extending 
beyond  the  commons  or  the  public-house.  If  he  experiences 
an  attack  from  his  old  habits,  he  will  take  to  the  tramp,  from 
town  to  town,  working  at  his  mechanical  occupation  ;  leav¬ 
ing  his  wife  and  children  at  home.  But  it  is  not  long  before 
he  returns.  Ilis  children,  having  been  born  and  reared  in  a 
town,  become  habituated  to  a  settled  life,  like  other  people. 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  ambition  about  every  Gipsy, 
which  is  displayed,  among  the  humble  classes,  in  all  kinds 


402 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  athletic  exercises.*  The  same  peculiarity  is  discernible 
among  the  educated  Scottish  Gipsies.  Carrying  about  with 
them  the  secret  of  being  Gipsies,  which  they  assume  would 
be  a  terrible  imputation  cast  upon  them  by  the  ordinary  na¬ 
tives,  if  they  knew  of  it,  they,  as  it  were,  fly  up,  like  game¬ 
cocks,  and  show  a  disposition  to  surpass  the  others  in  one 
way  or  other  ;  particularly  as  they  consider  themselves  bet¬ 
ter  than  the  common  inhabitants.  They  must  always  be 
“  cock  of  the  company,”  master  of  ceremonies,  or  stand  at 
the  top  of  the  tree,  if  possible.  The  reader  may  ask,  how 
do  they  consider  themselves  better  than  the  ordinary  natives  ? 
And  I  answer,  that,  from  having  been  so  long  in  Scotland, 
they  are  Scotchmen,  (as  indeed  they  are,  for  the  most  part,  in 
point  of  blood,)  and  consider  themselves  as  good  as  the 
others— nay,  smarter  than  others  in  the  same  sphere,  which, 
generally  speaking,  they  are  ;  and,  in  addition  to  that,  being 
Gipsies,  a  great  deal  better.  They  pique  themselves  on 
their  descent,  and  on  being  in  possession  of  secrets  which 
are  peculiarly  and  exclusively  theirs,  and  which  they  im¬ 
agine  no  other  knows,  or  will  ever  know.  They  feel  that 
they  are  part  and  parcel  of  those  mysterious  beings  who  are 
an  enigma  to  others,  no  less  than  to  themselves.  Besides 
this  vanity,  which  is  peculiar  to  the  Gipsy  everywhere,  the 
Scottish  Gipsies  have  chimed  in  with  all  the  native  Scotch 
ideas  of  clanism,  kith,  kin,  and  consequence,  as  regards 
family,  descent,  and  so  forth  ;  and  applied  them  so  pecu¬ 
liarly  to  themselves,  as  to  render  their  opinion  of  their  body 
as  something  of  no  small  importance.  Some  of  them, 
whose  descent  leads  them  more  directly  back  to  the  tented 
stock,  speak  of  their  families  having  possessed  this  district 
or  the  other  district  of  the  country,  as  much,  almost,  as  we 
would  expect  to  hear  from  some  native  Scottish  chieftain. 

As  regards  the  various  phases  of  history  through  which 
many  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  passed,  we  can  only  form 
an  estimate  from  what  has  been  observed  in  recent  times. 
The  further  back,  however,  we  go,  the  greater  were  their 
facilities  to  rise  to  a  position  in  society  ;  for  this  reason, 

*  “  I  was  one  of  these  verminous  ones,  one  of  these  great  sin-breeders ; 
I  infected  all  the  youth  of  the  town  where  I  was  born  with  all  manner  of 
youthful  vanities.  The  neighbours  counted  me  so  ;  my  practice  proved  me 
so :  wherefore  Christ  Jesus  took  me  first,  and  taking  me  first,  the  contagion 
was  much  allayed  all  the  town  over.” — Banyan. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


403 


that  a,  very  little  education,  joined  to  good  natural  talents, 
were  all  that  was  necessary,  in  a  mixed  Gipsy,  to  raise 
himself  in  the  world,  at  the  time  to  which  I  allude.  He 
could  leave  the  district  in  which,  when  a  youth,  he  had 
travelled,  with  his  parents  ;  settle  in  a  town  where  he 
was  not  personally  known  ;  commence  some  traffic,  and, 
by  his  industry,  gradually  raise  himself  up,  and  acquire 
wealth.  He  would  not  lack  a  proper  degree  of  innate  man¬ 
ners,  or  personal  dignity,  to  deport  himself  with  propriety 
in  any  ordinary  company  into  which  he  might  enter.  Even 
at  the  present  day,  in  Scotland,  a  poor  Gipsy  will  commence 
life  with  a  wheelbarrow,  then  get  a  donkey-cart,  and,  in  a 
few  years,  have  a  very  respectable  crockery-shop.  I  am  in¬ 
timate  with  an  English  mixed  Gipsy  family,  the  father  of 
which  commenced  life  as  a  basket-maker,  was  afterwards  a 
constable,  and  now  occasionally  travels  with  the  tent.  His 
son  is  an  M.  D.,  for  I  have  seen  his  diploma ;  and  is  a  smart, 
intelligent  fellow,  and  quite  an  adept  at  chemistry.  To 
illustrate  the  change  that  has  taken  place  among  some  of  the 
Scottish  Gipsies,  within  the  last  fifty  years,  I  may  mention 
that  the  grand-children  of  a  prominent  Gipsy,  mentioned  in 
chapter  V.,  follow,  at  the  present  day,  the  medical,  the  legal, 
and  the  mercantile  professions.  Such  occurrences  have  been 
frequent  in  Scotland.  There  are  the  cases  mentioned  by  our 
author  ;  such  as  one  of  the  Faas  rising  to  such  eminence  in 
the  mercantile  world,  at  Dunbar  ;  and  another  who  rose  to 
the  rank  of  lieutenant  in  the  East  India  Company’s  service  ; 
and  the  Baillie  family,  which  furnished  a  captain  and  a 
quarter-master  to  the  army,  and  a  country  surgeon.  These 
are  but  instances  of  many  others,  if  they  were  but  known. 
Some  may  object,  that  these  were  not  full-blood  Gipsies. 
That,  I  readily  admit.  But  the  objection  is  more  nominal 
than  real.  If  a  white  were  to  proceed  to  the  interior  of 
the  American  continent,  and  cast  his  lot  with  a  tribe  of 
Indians,  his  children  would,  of  course,  be  expected  to  be 
superior,  in  some  respects,  to  the  children  of  the  native 
blood  exclusively,  owing  to  what  the  father  might  be  sup¬ 
posed  to  teach  them.  But  it  is  different  in  the  case  of  a 
white  marrying  a  Scottish  Gipsy  woman,  born  and  reared  in 
the  same  community  with  himself ;  for  the  white,  in  general 
cases,  brings  only  his  blood,  which  enables  the  children,  if 
they  take  after  himself,  in  appearance,  to  enter  such  places 


404 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


as  the  black  Gipsies  would  not  enter,  or  might  not  be 
allowed  to  enter.  The  white  father,  in  such  a  case,  might 
not  even  be  so  intelligent  as  the  Gipsy  mother.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  the  individuals  to  whom  I  have  alluded  were  nothing 
but  Gipsies  ;  possibly  they  did  not  know  when,  or  through 
whom,  the  white  blood  was  introduced  among  them  ;  they 
knew,  at  least,  that  they  were  Gipsies,  and  that  the  links 
which  connected  them  with  the  past  were  substantially 
Gipsy  links.  Besides  the  Scottish  Gipsies  rising  to  respect¬ 
able  positions  in  life,  by  their  own  exertions,  I  can  well  be¬ 
lieve  that  Gipsydom  lias  been  well  brought  up  through  the 
female  line  ;  especially  at  a  time  when  females,  and  particu¬ 
larly  country  females,  were  rude  and  all  but  uneducated. 
Who  more  capable  of  doing  that  than  the  lady  Baillies,  of 
Tweed-dale,  and  the  lady  Wilsons,  of  Stirlingshire?  Such 
Gipsy  girls  could  “  turn  natives  round  their  little  fingers,” 
and  act,  in  a  way,  the  lady  at  once  ;  “  turn  over  a  new  leaf,” 
and  “  pin  it  down  ;”  and  conduct  themselves  with  great 
propriety. 

Upon  a  superior  Scottisli  Gipsy  settling  in  a  town,  and 
especially  a  small  town,  and  wishing  to  appear  respectable, 
he  would  naturally  take  a  pew  in  the  church,  and  attend 
public  worship,  were  it  only,  as  our  author  asserts,  to  hide 
the  fact  of  his  being  a  Gipsy.  Because,  among  the  Scotch, 
there  is  that  prying  inquisitiveness  into  their  neighbours’ 
affairs,  that  compels  a  person  to  be  very  circumspect,  in  all 
his  actions,  movements,  and  expressions,  if  he  wishes  to  be 
thought  anything  of,  at  all.  The  habit  of  attending  church 
would  then  become  as  regular,  in  the  Gipsy’s  family,  as  in 
the  families  of  the  ordinary  natives,  and,  in  a  great  measure, 
proceed  from  as  legitimate  a  motive.  The  family  would  be 
very  polite,  indeed,  extra  polite,  to  their  neighbours.  After 
they  had  lulled  to  sleep  every  suspicion  of  what  they  were, 
or,  by  their  really  good  conduct,  had,  according  to  the 
popular  idqa,  “  ceased  to  be  Gipsies,”  they  would  naturally 
encourage  a  formal  acquaintance  with  respectable  (and 
nothing  but  respectable,)  people  in  the  place.  The  Gipsy 
himself,  a  really  good  fellow  at  heart,  honourable  in  his 
dealings,  but  fond  of  a  bargain,  when  he  could  drive  a  bar¬ 
gain,  and,  moreover,  a  jovial  fellow,  would  naturally  make 
plenty  of  business  and  out-door  friends,  at  least.  Rising  in 
circumstances  and  th>e  public  esteem,  he  makes  up  his  mind 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


405 


that  his  children  ought  to  be  something  better  than  himself, 
at  all  events  :  in  short,  that  they  ought  not  to  be  behind 
those  of  his  respectable  neighbours.  •  Some  of  them  he, 
therefore,  educates  for  a  liberal  profession.  The  Gipsy 
himself  becomes  more  and  more  ambitious  :  besides  attend¬ 
ing  church,  he  must  become  an  elder  of  the  church  ;  or  it 
may  be  that  the  grace  of  God  takes  hold  of  him,  and  brings 
him  into  the  fold.  He  and  his  wife  conduct  themselves 
with  much  propriety  ;  but  some  of  the  boys  are  rather  wTild  ; 
the  girls,  however,  behave  well.  Altogether,  the  whole 
family  is  very  much  thought  of.  Such  is  a  Scottish  Gipsy 
family,  (the  parents  of  which  are  now  dead,)  that  I  have  in 
my  mind  at  the  present  moment.  No  suspicion  existed  in 
regard  to  the  father,  but  there  was  a  breath  of  suspicion  in 
regard  to  the  mother.  But  what  difference  did  that  make? 
What  knowledge  had  the  public  of  the  nature  of  Gipsydom  ? 

Consider,  then,  that  the  process  which  I  have  attempted 
to  describe  has  been  going  on,  more  or  less,  for  at  least  the 
last  three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ;  and  I  may  well  ask, 
where  might  we  not  expect  to  meet  with  Gipsies,  in  Scotland, 
at  the  present  day?  And  I  reply,  that  we  will  meet  wdtli 
them  in  every  sphere  of  Scottish  life,  not  excepting,  perhaps, 
the  very  highest.  There  are  Gipsies  among  the  very  best 
Edinburgh  families.  I  am  well  acquainted  with  Scotchmen, 
youths  and  men  of  middle  age,  of  education  and  charac¬ 
ter,  and  who  follow  very  respectable  occupations,  that  are 
Gipsies,  and  who  admit  that  they  are  Gipsies.  But,  apart 
from  my  own  knowledge,  I  ask,  is  it  not  a  fact,  that,  a  few 
years  ago,  a  pillar  of  the  Scottish  church,  at  Edinburgh, 
upon  the  occasion  of  founding  a  society  for  the  reformation 
of  the  poor  class  of  Scottish  Gipsies,  and  frequently  there¬ 
after,  said  that  he  himself  was  a  Gipsy  ?  I  ask,  again,  is  not 
that  a  fact  ?  It  is  a  fact.  And  such  a  man  !  Such  prayers  1 
Such  deep-toned,  sonorous  piety  !  Such  candour  !  Such 
judgment !  Such  amiability  of  manners !  How  much  re¬ 
spected  1  How  worthy  of  respect !  The  good,  the  godly, 
the  saintly  doctor !  When  will  we  meet  his  like  again  ?* 

*  “  Grand  was  the  repose  of  his  lofty  brow,  dark  eye,  and  aspect  of  soft 
and  melancholy  meaning.  It  was  a  face  from  which  every  evil  and  earthly 
passion  seemed  purged.  A  deep  gravity  lay  upon  his  countenance,  which 
had  the  solemnity,  without  the  sternness,  of  one  of  our  old  reformers.  You 
could  almost  fancy  a  halo  completing  its  apostolic  character.” 


406 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


This  leads  me  to  speak  of  a  high-class  Scottish  Gipsy 
family — the  Falls,  -who  settled  at  Dunbar,  as  merchants,  al¬ 
luded  to  under  the* chapter  on  Border  Gipsies.*  Who  can 
doubt  that  they  were  Gipsies  to  the  last  ?  How  could  they 
avoid  being  Gipsies  ?  The  Gipsies  were  their  people  ;  their 
blood  was  Gipsy  blood.  How  could  they  get  rid  of  their 
blood  and  descent  ?  Could  they  throw  either  off,  as  they 
would  an  old  coat  ?  Could  medical  science  rid  them  of 
either  ?  Assuredly  not.  They  admitted  their  descent,  over 
their  cups.  But  being  descendants  of  Gipsies,  and  yet  not 
Gipsies,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms.  The  principles  which 
regulate  the  descent  of  other  Gipsy  families  applied  equally 
to  theirs.  The  fact  that  Mrs.  Fall  had  the  history  of  her 
people,  in  the  act  of  leaving  Yetholm,  represented  in  tapes¬ 
try,  may  be  taken  as  but  a  straw  that  indicated  how  the 
wind  blew.  Was  not  old  Will  Faa,  the  Gipsy  king,  down 
to  his  death,  at  the  end  of  the  first  American  war,  admitted 
to  their  hospitality  as  a  relative  ?  And  do  not  the  Scottish 

*  Burns  alludes  to  this  family,  thus  :  “  Passed  through  the  most  glorious 
corn  country  I  ever  saw,  till  I  reached  Dunbar,  a  neat  little  town.  Dine 
■with  Provost  Fall,  an  eminent  merchant,  and  most  respectable  character, 
but  indescribable,  as  he  exhibits  no  marked  traits.  Mrs.  Fall,  a  genius  in 
painting ;  fully  more  clever  in  the  fine  arts  and  sciences  than  my  friend 
Lady  Wauchope,  without  her  consummate  assurance  of  her  own  abilities.” — 
Life  of  Burns,  by  Robert  Chambers. 

The  crest  of  the  Falls,  of  Dunbar,  was  three  boars’  heads,  couped  ;  that  of 
Baillie,  of  Lamington,  is  one  boar’s  head,  couped.  In  the  Statistical  Account 
of  Scotland,  (1835,)  appears  the  following  notice  of  this  family  :  “  A  family, 
of  the  name  of  Fall,  established  themselves  at  Dunbar,  and  became,  during 
the  last  century,  the  most  extensive  merchants  in  Scotland.  They  were 
long  the  chief  magistrates  of  the  burgh,  and  preferred  the  public  good  to 
their  own  profit.  They  have  left  no  one  to  bear  their  name,  not  even  a 
stone  to  tell  where  they  lie  ;  but  they  will  long  be  remembered  for  tbeir  en¬ 
terprise  and  public  spirit.”  There  is  apparently  a  reason  for  “  not  even  a 
stone  being  left  to  tell  where  they  lie;”  for  in  Hoyland’s  “  Survey  of  the 
Gipsies”  appeared  the  account  of  Baillie  Smith,  in  which  it  is  said  :  “  The 
descendants  of  Faa  now  take  the  name  of  Fall,  from  the  Messrs.  Fall,  of 
Dunbar,  who,  they  pride  themselves  in  saying,  are  of  the  same  stock  and 
lineage  which  seems  to  have  frightened  tlieir  connexions  at  being  known 
to  be  Gipsies. 

Let  all  that  has  been  said  of  the  Falls  be  considered  as  their  monument 
and  epitaph  ;  so  that  their  memories  may  be  preserved  as  long  as  this 
work  exists. 

it  would  be  interesting  to  know  who  the  Captain  Fall  was,  who  visited 
Dunbar,  with  an  American  ship-of-war,  during  the  time  of  Paul  Jones.  He 
might  have  been  a  descendant  of  a  Gipsy,  sent  to  the  plantations,  in  the 
olden  times.  There  are,  as  I  have  said  before,  a  great  many  scions  of  Gipsy 
Faas,  under  one  name  or  other,  scattered  over  the  world. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


407 


Gipsies,  at  the  present  day,  claim  them  to  have  been  Gip¬ 
sies  ?  Why  might  not  the  Falls  glory  in  being  Egyptians 
among  themselves,  but  not  to  others?  Were  not  their  an¬ 
cestors  kings?  “Wee  kings,”  no  doubt,  but  still  kings; 
one  of  them  being  the  “  loved  John  Faw,”  of  James  V.,  whom 
all  the  tribe  consider  as  a  great  man,  (which,  doubtless,  he 
was,  in  that  barbarous  age,)  and  the  principal  of  the  thirteen 
patriarchs  of  Scottish  Gipsydom.  Was  not  a  Gipsy  king, 
(themselves  being  Gipsies,)  an  ancestor  of  far  more  respect, 
in  their  eyes,  than  the  founder  of  a  native  family,  in  their 
neighbourhood  ;  who,  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.,  was  a  com¬ 
mon  country  snip,  and  most  likely  commenced  life  with 
“  whipping  the  cat”  around  the  country,  for  fivepence  a 
day,  and  victuals  and  clippings  ?* 

The  truth  of  the  matter  is,  these  Falls  must  have  con¬ 
sidered  themselves  a  world  better  than  other  people,  merely 
on  account  of  their  being  Gipsies,  as  all  Gipsies  do,  arising, 
in  part,  from  that  antagonistic  spirit  of  opposition  which  the 
prejudice  of  their  fellow-creatures  is  so  much  calculated  to 
stir  up  in  their  minds.  Saying,  over  their  cups,  that  they 
were  descended  from  the  Faws,  the  historical  Gipsy  name 
in  Scotland,  did  not  divulge  very  much  to  the  public.  For 
what  idea  had  the  public  of  the  working  of  Gipsydom — 
what  idea  of' the  Gipsy  language?  Did  the  public  know  of 
the  existence  of  a  Gipsy  language  in  Scotland  ?  In  all  prob¬ 
ability,  it  generally  did  not.  If  the  public  heard  a  Tinkler 
use  a  strange  word,  all  that  it  would  think  of  it  would  be, 
that  it  was  cant,  confined  to  vagabonds  strolling  the  coun¬ 
try.  Would  it  ever  dream  that  what  the  vagabonds  used 
was  carefully  preserved  and  spoken  among  the  great 
Falls,  of  Dunbar,  within  the  sanctity  of  their  own  dwellings, 
as  it  assuredly  must  have  been  ?  Would  the  public  believe 
in  such  a  tiling,  if  even  its  own  ears  were  made  the  witnesses 
to  it?  Was  the  love  which  the  Falls  had  for  their  Yeth- 
olm  connexion  confined  to  a  mere  group  of  their  ancestors 
worked  in  tapestry  ?  Where  was  the  Gipsy  language,  dur¬ 
ing  all  this  time  ?  Assuredly  it  was  well  preserved  in  their 
family.  If  it  showed  the  least  symptoms  of  falling  off,  how 
easily  could  the  mothers  bring  into  the  family,  as  servants, 

*  Whipping  the  cot".  Tailoring  from  house  to  house.  The  eat  is  whipped 
by  females,  as  well  as  males,  in  America,  in  some  parts  of  which  the  ex¬ 
pression  is  current. 


408 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


other  Gipsies,  who  would  teach  it  to  the  children  !  For,  be¬ 
sides  the  dazzling  hold  which  the  Gipsy  language  takes  of 
the  mind  of  a  Gipsy,  as  the  language  of  those  black,  mysteri¬ 
ous  heroes  from  whom  he  is  descended,  the  keeping  of  it 
up  forms  the  foundation  of  that  self-respect  which  a  Gipsy 
has  for  himself,  amidst  the  prejudice  of  the  world  ;  from 
which,  at  the  bottom  of  his  heart,  whatever  his  position  in 
life,  or  character,  or  associations,  may  be,  he  considers  him¬ 
self  separated.  I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  all  the  do¬ 
mestics  about  this  Fall  family  were  Gipsies  of  one  caste, 
colour,  condition,  or  what  not. 

Then,  we  are  told  that  Miss  Fall,  who  married  Sir  John 
Anstruther,  of  Elie,  baronet,  was  looked  down  upon  by  her 
husband’s  friends,  and  received  no  other  name  than  Jenny 
Faa  ;  and  that  she  was  indirectly  twitted  with  being  a 
Gipsy,  by  the  rabble,  while  attending  an  election  in  which 
Sir  John  was  a  candidate.  What  real  satisfaction  could  Jenny, 
or  any  other  Gipsy,  have  for  ordinary  natives  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  when  she  was  conscious  of  being  what  she  was,  and  how 
she  was  spoken  of,  by  her  husband’s  relatives  and  the  public 
generally  ?  She  would  take  comfort  in  telling  her  “  wonder¬ 
ful  story”  to  her  children,  (for  I  presume  she  would  have 
children,)  who  would  sympathize  with  her  ;  and  in  convers¬ 
ing  with  such  of  her  own  race  as  were  near  her,  were  it 
only- her  trusty  domestics.  It  is  the  Gipsy  woman  who  feels 
the  prejudice  that  exists  towards  her  race  the  most  acutely; 
for  she  has  the  rearing  of  the  children,  and  broods  more 
over  the  history  of  her  people.  As  the  needle  turns  to  the 
pole,  so  does  the  mind  of  the  Gipsy  woman  to  Gipsydom. 

We  are  likewise  told  that  this  eminent  Gipsy  family  were 
connected,  by  marriage,  with  the  Footies,  of  Balgonie  ;  the 
Coutts,  afterwards  bankers  ;  Collector  Whyte,  of  Kirkaldy, 
and  Collector  Melville,  of  Dunbar.  We  may  assume,  as  a 
mathematical  certainty,  that  Gipsydom,  in  a  refined  form,  is 
in  existence  in  the  descendants  of  these  families,  particu¬ 
larly  in  such  of  them  as  were  connected  with  this  Gipsy 
family  by  the  female  side.* 

*  Of  the  Gipsies  at  Moscow,  the  following  is  the  substance  of  what  Mr. 
Borrow  says  :  “  Those  who  have  been  accustomed  to  consider  the  Gipsy  as 

&  wandering  outcast . will  be  surprised  to  learn  that, 

amongst  the  Gipsies  of  Moscow,  there  are  not  a  few  who  inhabit  stately 
houses,  go  abroad  in  elegant  equipages,  and  are  behind  the  higher  order  of 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


400 


A  person  who  lias  never  considered  this  subject,  or  any 
other  cognate  to  it,  may  imagine  that  a  Gipsy  reproaches 
himself  with  his  own  blood.  Pshaw!  Where  will  you 
find  a  man,  or  a  tribe  of  men,  under  the  heavens,  that  will 
do  that  ?  It  is  not  in  human  nature  to  do  it.  All  men 
venerate  their  ancestors,  whoever  they  have  been.  A  Gipsy 
is,  to  an  extraordinary  degree,  proud  of  his  blood.  “  I  have 
very  little  of  the  blood,  myself,”  said  one  of  them,  “but  just 
come  and  sec  my  wife!”  Put  people  may  say  that  the  an¬ 
cestors  of  the  Falls  were  thieves.  And  were  not  all  the 
Borderers,  in  their  way,  the  worst  kind  of  thieves?  They 
might  not  have  stolen  from  their  nearest  relatives  ;  but,  with 
that  exception,  did  they  not  steal  from  each  other  ?  Now, 
Gipsies  never,  or  hardly  ever,  steal  from  each  other.  Were 
not  all  the  Elliots  and  Armstrongs  thieves  of  the  first 
water?  Were  not  the  Scotts  and  the  Kers  thieves,  long 
after  the  Gipsies  entered  Scotland  ?  When  the  servants  of 
Scott  of  Harden  drove  out  his  last  cow,  and  said,  “  There  goes 
Harden’s  cow,”  did  not  the  old  cow-stealer  say,  “  It  will  soon 
be  Harden’s  kye” — meaning,  that  he  would  set  out  on  a  cow¬ 
stealing  expedition?  In  fact,  he  lived  upon  spoil.  AY as  it 
not  his  lady’s  custom,  on  the  last  bullock  being  killed,  to 
place  on  the  table  a  dish,  which,  on  being  uncovered,  was 
found  to  contain  a  pair  of  clean  spurs — a  hint,  to  her  hus¬ 
band  and  his  followers,  that  they  must  shift  for  their  next 
meal  ?  The  descendants  of  these  Scotts,  and  the  Scottish 
public  generally,  look,  with  the  utmost  complacency  and 
pride,  upon  the  history  of  such  families  ;  yet  would  be  very 
apt  to  make  a  great  ado,  if  the  ancestress  of  a  Gipsy  should, 
in  such  a  predicament,  have  hung  out  a  cock’s  tail  at  the 
mouth  of  her  tent,  as  a  hint  to  her  “  laddies”  to  look  after 

Russians  neither  in  appearance  nor  mental  acquirements . The 

sums  obtained  by  the  Gipsy  females, -by  the  exercise  of  their  art  (singing 
in  the  choirs  of  Moscow,)  enable  them  to  support  their  relatives  in  afflu¬ 
ence  and  luxury.  Some  are  married  to  Russians  ;  and  no  one  who  has 
visited  Russia  can  but  be  aware  that  a  lovely  and  accomplished  countess, 
of  the  noble  and  numerous  family  of  Tolstoy  is,  by  birth,  a  Zigana,  and  was 
originally  one  of  the  principal  attractions  of  a  Romany  choir  at  Moscow.” 

This  short  notice  appears  unsatisfactory,  considering,  as  Mr.  Borrow 
says,  that  one  of  his  principal  motives  for  visiting  Moscow  was  to  hold 
communication  with  the  Gipsies.  It  might  have  occurred  to  him  to  en¬ 
quire  what  relation  the  children  of  such  marriages  would  bear  to  Gipsydom 
generally  ;  that  is,  would  they  be  initiated  in  the  mysteries,  and  taught  the 
language,  and  hold  themselves  to  be  Gipsies?  It  is  evident,  however,  that 
the  Gipsy-drilling  process  is  going  on  among  the  Russian  nobility. 

18 


410 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GirSIES. 


poultry.  Common  sense  tells  us,  that,  for  one  excuse  to  be 
offered  for  such  conduct,  on  the  part  of  the  landed-gentry 
of  the  country,  a  hundred  can  be  found  for  the  ancestor  of  a 
Gipsy — an  unfortunate  wanderer  on  the  face  of  the  earth, 
who  was  hunted  about,  like  a  wolf  of  the  forest.* 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  our  Highland  thieves  ?  High¬ 
landers  may  be  more  touchy  on  this  point,  for  their  ances¬ 
tors  were  the  last  of  the  British  race  to  give  up  that  kind  of 
life.  Talk  of  the  laws  passed  against  the  Gipsies  !  Vari¬ 
ous  of  our  Scottish  monarchs  issued  decrees  against  “  the 
wicked  thieves  and  limmers  of  the  clans  and  surnames,  in¬ 
habiting  the  Highlands  and  Isles,”  accusing  “  the  chieftains 
principal  of  the  branches  worthy  to  be  esteemed  the  very 
authors,  fosterers,  and  maintainers,  of  the  wicked  deeds  of 
the  vagabonds  of  their  clans  and  surnames.”  Indeed,  the 
doweries  of  the  chiefs’  daughters  were  made  up  by  a  share 
of  the  booty  collected  on  their  expeditions.  The  Highlands 
were,  at  one  time,  little  better  than  a  nest  of  thieves  ; 
thieving  from  each  other,  and  more  particularly  from  their 
southern  neighbours.  It  is  notorious  that  robbery,  in  the 
Highlands,  was  “  held  to  be  a  calling  not  merely  innocent, 
but  honourable  and  that  a  high-born  Highland  warrior 
was  “  much  more  becomingly  employed,  in  plundering  the 
lands  of  others,  than  in  tilling  his  own.”  At  stated  times  of 
the  year,  such  as  at  Candlemas,  regular  bands  of  Highland¬ 
ers,  the  sons  of  gentlemen  and  what  not,  proceeded  south 
in  quest  of  booty,  as  part  of  their  winter’s  provisions.  The 
Highlanders  might  even  have  been  compared,  at  one  time,  to 
as  many  tribes  of  Afghans.  Mr.  Skene,  the  historian  of  the 
Highlands,  and  himself  a  Highlander,  says  that  the  High¬ 
landers  “  believed  that  they  had  a  right  to  plunder  the  peo¬ 
ple  of  the  low  country,  whenever  it  was  in  their  power  P  We 

*  On  liis  return  with  his  gallant  prey,  he  passed  a  very  large  hay-stack. 
It  occurred  to  the  provident  laird  that  this  would  be  extremely  convenient 
to  fodder  his  new  stock  of  cattle  ;  but,  as  no  means  of  transporting  it  were 
obvious,  he  was  fain  to  take  leave  of  it,  with  the  apostrophe,  now  become 
proverbial,  “  By  my  said ,  had  ye  but  four  feet.,  ye  should  not  stand  lung  /here.” 
In  short,  as  Froissart  says  of  a  similar  class  of  feudal  robbers,  “  Nothing 
came  amiss  to  them  that  was  not  too  heavy  or  too  hot.”  Sir  Walter  Scott 
speaks,  in  the  most  jocular  manner,  of  an  ancestress  who  had  a  curious 
hand  at  pickling  the  beef  which  her  husband  stole  ;  and  that  there  was  not  a 
stain  upon  his  escutcheon,  barring  Border  theft  and  high  treason.— Lock¬ 
harts  Life  of  Sir  Walter  Scott. 

We  should  never  forget  that  a  “  hawk’s  a  hawk,”  whether  it  is  a  falcon 
or  a  mosquito  hawk,  which  is  the  smallest  of  all  hawks. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


411 


naturally  ask, liow  did  Hie  Highlanders  acquire  this  right  of 
plunder  ?  Were  they  ever  proscribed  ?  Were  any  of  them 
hung,  merely  for  being  Highlanders?  No.  What  plea, 
then,  did  the  Highlanders  set  up,  in  justification  of  this 
■wholesale  robbery  ? — “  They  believed,  from  tradition,  that 
the  Lowlands,  in  old  times,  were  the  possessions  of  their  an¬ 
cestors.”  (Skene.)  But  that  was  no  excuse  for  their  plun¬ 
dering  each  other.* 

The  Gipsy’s  ordinary  pilfering  was  confined  to  such  petty 
things  as  “hens  and  peats  at  pleasure,”  “  cutting  a  bit  lamb’s 
throat,”  and  “  a  mouthfu’  o’  grass  and  a  pickle  corn,  for  the 
cuddy” — “  things  that  a  farmer  body  ne’er  could  miss.”  But 
your  Highlanders  did  not  content  themselves  with  such 
“needles  and  pins;”  they  must  have  “horned  cattle.”  If 
the  coast  was  clear,  they  would  table  their  drawn  dirks, 
and  commence  their  spulzie,  by  making  their  victims  furnish 
them  with  what  was  necessary  to  fill  their  bellies  ;  upon  the 
strength  of  which,  they  would  “  lift”  whatever  they  could 
carry  and  drive,  or  take  its  equivalent  in  black-mail. 

What  an  effort  is  made  by  our  McGregors,  at  the  present 
day,  to  scrape  up  kin  with  this  or  the  other  bandit  Mc¬ 
Gregor  ;  and  yet  how  apt  the  McGregor  is  to  turn  up  his 
nose — just  as  Punch,  only,  could  make  him  turn  it  up — if  a 
Gipsy  were  to  step  out,  and  say,  that  he  was  a  descendant, 
and  could  speak  the  language,  of  Will  Baillie,  mentioned 
under  the  head  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale  Gipsies  :  a 
Gipsy,  described  by  my  ancestor,  (and  he  could  judge,)  to 
have  been  “  the  handsomest,  the  best  dressed,  the  best  look¬ 
ing,  and  the  best  bred,  man  he  ever  saw  ;  and  the  best 

*  Sir  Waller  Scott  m  ikes  Fitz  James,  in  the  “  Lady  of  the  Lake,”  say  to 
Roderick  Dhu : 

“  But  then,  thy  chieftain’s  robber  life  ! — 

Winning  mean  prey  by  causeless  strife, 

"Wrenching  from  ruined  Lowland  swain 
Ilis  herds  and  harvests  reared  in  vain — 

Methinks  a  soul  like  thine  should  scorn 
The  spoils  from  such  foul  foray  borne.” 

The  Gael  beheld  him,  grim  the  while, 

And  answered  with  disdainful  smile, — 

‘  Where  live  the  mountain  chiefs,  who  hold 
That  plundering  Lowland  field  and  fold 
Is  aught  but  retribution  true  ? 

Seek  other  cause  'gainst  Roderick  Dhu  !’  ” 


412 


DISQUISITION'  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


swordsman  in  Scotland,  for,  with  his  weapon  in  his  hand, 
and  his  back  at  a  wall,  he  could  set  almost  everything,  sav¬ 
ing  fire-arms,  at  defiance  ;  a  man  who  could  act  the  gentle¬ 
man,  the  robber,  the  sorner,  and  the  tinker,  whenever  it 
answered  his  purpose.”*  And  yet,  some  of  this  man’s  de¬ 
scendants  will  doubtless  be  found  among  our  medical  doc¬ 
tors,  and  even  the  clergy.  I  recollect  our  author  pointing 
out  a  clergyman  of  the  Scottish  Church,  who,  he  was  pretty 
sure,  was  “  one  of  them.”  What  name  could  have  stood 
lower,  at  one  time,  than  McGregor  ?  Both  by  legal  and 
social  proscription,  it  was  looked  upon  as  vagabond  ;  and 
doubtless  the  clan  brought  it,  primarily  and  principally,  upon 
themselves  ;  but  as  for  the  rapine  they  practised  upon  their 
neighbours,  and  the  helpless  southerners,  they  were,  at  first, 
no  worse,  in  that  respect,  than  others  of  their  nation.  Are 
the  McGregors  sure  that  there  are  no  Gipsies  among  them  ? 
There  are  plenty  of  Gipsies  of,  at  least,  the  name  of  Mc¬ 
Gregor,  known  to  both  the  Scottish  and  English  Gipsies. 
What  more  likely  than  some  of  the  McGregors,  when  “  out,” 
and  leading  their  vagabond  lives,  getting  mixed  up  with  the 
better  kind  of  mixed  Gipsies  ?  They  were  both  leading  a 
wild  life,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  some  of  the  McGregors, 
of  even  no  small  consequence,  might  have  been  led  captive 
by  such  Gipsy  girls  as  the  lady  Baillies,  of  Tweecl-dale.  Let 
a  Gipsy  once  be  grafted  upon  a  native  family,  and  she  rises 
with  it ;  leavens  the  little  circle  of  which  she  is  the  centre, 
and  leaves  it,  and  its  descendants,  for  all  time  coming, 
Gipsies. 

1  now  come  to  ask,  what  constitutes  a  Gipsy,  at  the  present 
day  ?  And  common  sense  replies  :  the  simple  fact  of  know¬ 
ing  from  -whom  he  is  descended,  that  is,  who  he  is,  in  con¬ 
nection  with  having  the  Gipsy  words  and  signs,  although 
these  are  not  absolutely  necessary.  It  requires  no  argument 
to  show  that  there  is  no  tribe  or  nation  but  finds  something 
that  leads  it  to  cling  to  its  origin  and  descent,  and  not  de¬ 
spise  the  blood  that  runs  in  its  own  veins,  although  it  may 
despise  the  condition  or  conduct  of  some  of  its  members. 
Where  shall  we  find  an  exception  to  this  rule?  The  Gipsy 
race  is  no  exception  to  it.  Civilize  a  Gipsy,  and  you  make 
him  a  civilized  Gipsy  ;  educate  him,  and  you  make  him  an 
educated  Gipsy ;  bring  him  up  to  any  profession  you  like, 

*  See  page  202. 


413 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 

/  > 

Chiijstianize  him  as  much  as  you  may,  and  he  still  remains  a 
Gipsy  ;  because  he  is  of  the  Gipsy  race,  and  all  the  influ¬ 
ences  of  nature  and  revelation  do  not  affect  the  questions 
of  blood,  tribe,  and  nationality.  Take  all  the  Gipsies  that 
ever  came  out  of  the  tent,  or  their  descendants,  including 
those  brought  into  the  body  through  the  male  and  female 
line;  and  vfchat  are  they  now  ?  Still  Gipsies.  They  even 
pass  into  other  world  Gipsies.  “  But  they  will  forget 
that  they  Gipsies,”  say,  perhaps,  some  of  my  readers. 
Forget  that  they  are  Gipsies!  Will  we  hear,  some  of  these 
days,  that  Scotch  people,  themselves,  will  get  up  of  a  morn¬ 
ing,  toss  about  their  night-caps,  and  forget  that,  they  are 
Scotch?  We  may  then  see  the  same  happen  with  the  Gip¬ 
sies.  What  I  have  said,  of  the  Gipsy  always  being  a  Gipsy, 
is  self-evident ;  but  it  has  a  wide  difference  of  meaning 
from  that  contained  in  the  quotation  given  by  Mr.  Borrow, 
in  which  it  is  said  :  “  For  that  which  is  unclean  by  nature 
thou  canst  entertain  no  hope  ;  no  washing  will  turn  the 
Gipsy  white.”*  But,  taking  the  world  all  over,  there  will 
doubtless  be  Gipsies,  in  larger  or  smaller  numbers,  who  will 
always  be  found  following  the  original  ways  of  their  race. 

What  were  the  Hungarians,  at  one  time,  and  what  are 
they  now  ?  Pritchard  says  of  them  :  “  The  Hungarians 

*  In  expatiating  on  the  subject  of  the  Gipsy  race  always  being  the  Gipsy 
race,  I  have  had  it  remarked  to  me:  “  Suppose  Gipsies  should  not  mention 
to  their  children  the  fact  of  their  being  Gipsies.”  In  that  case,  I  replied, 
the  children,  especially  if,  for  the  most  part,  of  white  blood,  would  simply 
not  be  Gipsies  ;  they  would,  of  course,  have  some  of  “  the  blood,”  but  they 
would  not  be  Gipsies  if  they  had  no  knowledge  of  the  fact.  But  to  sup¬ 
pose  that  Gipsies  should  not  learn  that  they  are  Gipsies,  on  account  of 
their  parents  not  telling  them  of  it,  is  to  presume  that  they  had  no  other 
relatives.  Their  being  Gipsies  is  constantly  talked  of  among  themselves; 
so  that,- if  Gipsy  children  should  not  hear  their  ‘‘wonderful  story”  from 
their  parents,  they  would  readily  enough  hear  it  from  their  other  relatives. 
This  is  assuming,  however,  that  the  Gipsy  mind  can  act  otherwise  than  the 
Gipsy  mind;  which  it  cannot. 

It  sometimes  happens,  ns  the  Gipsies  separate  into  classes,  like  all  other 
races  or  communities  of  men,  that  a  great  deal  of  jealousy  is  stirred  up  in 
the  minds  of  the  poorer  members  of  the  tribe,  on  account  of  their  being 
shunned  by  the  wealthier  kind.  They  are  then  apt  to  say  that  the  exclu¬ 
sive  members  have  left  the  tribe;  which,  with  them,  is  an  undefined  and 
confused  idea,  at  the  best,  principally  on  account  of  their  limited  powers  of 
reflection,  and  the  subject  never  being  alluded  to  by  the  others.  This 
jealousy  sometimes  leads  them  to  dog  these  straggling  sheep,  so  that,  as  far 
as  lies  in  their  power,  they  will  not  allow  them  to  leave,  as  they  imagine, 
the  Gipsy  fold.  [See  second  note  at  page  532J 


414 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


laid  aside  the  habits  of  rude  and  savage  hunters,  far  below 
the  condition  of  the  nomadic  hordes,  for  the  manners  of 
civilized  life.  In  the  course  of  a  thousand  years,  they  have 
become  a  handsome  people,  of  fine  stature,  regular  European 
features,  and  have  the  complexion  prevalent  in  that  tract  of 
Europe  where  they  dwell.”  Now  the  Gipsies  have  been  in 
Scotland  at  least  three  hundred  and  fifty  years^  and  what 
with  the  mixture  of  native  blood,  (which,  at  leflt  helped  to 
remove  the  prejudice  against  the  man’s  appeara^W,  and,  con¬ 
sequently,  gave  him  a  larger  and  freer  scope  of  action  ;)  the 
hard  laws  of  necessity,  and  the  being  tossed  about  by  society, 
like  pebbles  on  the  seashore  ;  the  influences  of  civilization, 
education,  and  the  grace  of  God  itself ;  by  such  means  as 
these,  some  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  risen  to  a  respect¬ 
able,  even  eminent,  position  in  life.  But  some  people  may 
say :  “  These  are  not  Gipsies  ;  they  have  little  of  the  blood 
in  them.”  That  is  nothing.  Ask  themselves  what  they  are, 
and,  if  they  are  at  all  candid,  they  will  reply  that  they  are 
Gipsies.  “No  doubt,”  they  say,  “  we  have  fair,  or  red,  or 
black,  hair,  (as  the  case  may  be  ;)  we  know  nothing  about 
that ;  but  we  know  that  we  are  Gipsies  ;  that  is  all.”  There 
is  as  much  difference  between  such  a  high-class  Gipsy  and  a 
poor  Gipsian,  as  there  is  between  a  Scottish  judge  and  the 
judge’s  fourth  cousin,  who  makes  his  living  by  clipping  dogs’ 
ears.  The  principle  of  progression,  the  passing  through  one 
phase  of  history  into  another,  while  the  race  maintains  its 
identity,  holds  good  with  the  Gipsies,  as  well  as  with  any 
other  people. 

Take  a  Gipsy  in  his  original  state,  and  we  can  find  noth¬ 
ing  really  vulgar  about  him.  What  is  popularly  understood 
to  be  Gipsy  life  may  be  considered  low  life,  by  people  who 
do  not  overmuch  discriminate  in  such  matters  ;  but  view  it 
after  its  kind,  and  it  is  not  really  low  ;  for  a  Gipsy  is  natu¬ 
rally  polite  and  well  mannered.  He  does  not  consider  him¬ 
self  as  belonging  to  the  same  race  as  the  native,  and  would 
rather  be  judged  by  a  different  standard.  The  life  which 
he  leads  is  not  that  of  the  lowest  class  of  the  country  in 
which  he  dwells,  but  the  primitive,  original  state  of  a  peo¬ 
ple  of  great  antiquity,  proscribed  by  law  and  society  ;  him¬ 
self  an  enemy  of,  and  an  enemy  to,  all  around  him  ;  with  the 
population  so  prejudiced  against  him,  that  attempts  to  change 
his  condition,  consistently  with  his  feelings  as  a  man,  are 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


415 


frequently  rendered  in  vain  :  so  that,  on  the  ground  of 
strict  morals,  or  even  administrative  justice,  the  man  can  be 
said  to  be  only  half  responsible.  The  subject,  however, 
assumes  quite  a  different  aspect,  when  we  consider  a  Gipsy 
of  education  and  refinement,  like  the  worthy  clergyman 
mentioned,  between  whose  condition  and  that  of  his  tented 
ancestor  an  interval  of,  perhaps,  two  or  three  centuries  has 
elapsed.  We  should  then  put  him  on  the  footing  of  any 
other  race  having  a  barbarous  origin,  and  entertain  no  preju¬ 
dice  against  him  on  account  of  the  race  to  which  he  be¬ 
longs.  He  is  then  to  be  judged  as  we  judge  Highland  and 
Border  Scots,  for  the  whole  three  were  at  one  time  robbers  ; 
and  all  the  three  having  welled  up  to  respectable  life  to¬ 
gether,  they  ought  to  be  judged  on  their  merits,  individually, 
as  men,  and  treated  accordingly.  And  the  Gipsy  ought  to 
be  the  most  leniently  dealt  with,  on  the  principle  that  the 
actions  of  his  ancestors  were  far  more  excusable,  and  even 
less  heinous,  than  those  of  the  others.  And  as  regards  an¬ 
tiquity  of  descent,  the  Gipsy’s  infinitely  surpasses  the  others, 
being  probably  no  less  than  the  shepherd  kings,  part  of 
whose  blood  left  Egypt,  in  the  train  of  the  Jews.  1  would 
place  such  a  Gipsy  on  the  footing  of  the  Hungarian  race  ; 
with  this  difference,  that  the  Hungarians  entered  Europe  in 
the  ninth  century,  and  became  a  people,  occupying  a  terri¬ 
tory  ;  while  the  Gipsies  appeared  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  are  now  to  be  found,  civilized  and  uncivilized,  in  almost 
every  corner  of  the  known  world. 

The  admission  of  the  good  man  alluded  to  casts  a  flood 
of  light  upon  the  history  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  race, 
shrouded  as  it  is  from  the  eye  of  the  general  population  ; 
but  the  information  given  by  him  was  apt  to  fall  flat  upon 
the  ear  of  the  ordinary  native,  unless  it  was  accompanied  by 
some  such  exposition  of  the  subject  as  is  given  in  this  work. 
Still,  we  can  gather  from  it,  where  Gipsies  are  to  be  found, 
what  a  Scottish  Gipsy  is,  and  what  the  race  is  capable  of ; 
and  what  might  be  expected  of  it,  if  the  prejudice  of  their 
fellow-creatures  was  withdrawn  from  the  race,  as  distin¬ 
guished  from  the  various  classes  into  which  it  may  be  divided, 
or,  I  should  rather  say,  the  personal  conduct  of  each  Gipsy 
individually.  View  the  subject  any  way  I  may,  I  cannot 
resist  coming  to  the  conclusion  that,  under  more  favour¬ 
able  circumstances,  it  is  difficult  to  say  what  the  Gipsies 


416 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


might  not,  attain  to.  Bnt  that  would  depend  greatly  upon 
the  country  in  which  they  are  to  be  found.  Scotland  has 
been  peculiarly  favourable  for  them,  in  some  respects. 

As  regards  the  Scottish  Gipsy  population,  at  the  present 
day,  I  can  only  adopt  the  language  of  the  immortal  Dominie 
Sampson,  and  say,  that  it  must  be  “  prodigious.”  If  we  con¬ 
sider  the  number  that  appear  to  have  settled  in  Scotland, 
the  length  of  time  they  have  been  in  Scotland,  the  great 
amount  of  white  blood  that  has,  by  one  means  or  other,  been 
brought  into,  and  mixed  up  with,  the  body,  and  its  great 
natural  encrease  ;  the  feelings  that  attach  them  to  their  de¬ 
scent- — feelings  that  originate,  more  properly,  within  them¬ 
selves,  and  feelings  that  press  upon  them  from  without — the 
various  occupations  and  positions  in  life  in  which  they  are 
to  be  found  ;  we  cannot  set  any  limit  to  their  number. 
Gipsies  are  just  like  other  people  ;  they  have  their  own  sets 
or  circles  of  associates,  out  of  which,  as  a  thing  that  is 
almost  invariable,  they  will  hide,  if  not  deny,  themselves  to 
others  of  their  race,  for  reasons  which  have  already  been 
given.  So  almost  invariable  is  this,  at  the  present  day, 
amongst  Gipsies  that  are  not  tented  Gipsies,  that,  should  an 
English  Gipsy  come  across  a  settlement  of  them  in  America 
— German  Gipsies,  for  example — and  cast  his  sign,  and  ad¬ 
dress  them  in  their  own  speech,  they  will  pretend  not  to 
know  what  he  means,  although  he  sees  the  Gipsy  in  their 
faces  and  about  their  dwellings.  But  should  lie  meet  with 
them  away  from  their  homes,  and  where  they  are  not  known, 
they  would  answer,  and  be  cheek-by-jowl  with  him,  in  a  mo¬ 
ment.  I  have  found,  by  personal  experience,  that  the  same 
holds  with  the  French  and  other  continental  Gipsies  in 
America.*  It  is  particularly  so  with  the  Scottish  Gipsies. 

*  I  very  abruptly  addressed  a  French  Gipsy,  in  the  streets  of  New  York, 
thus:  “Yous  etes  un  Romany  duel."  “  Oui,  monsieur,”  was  the  reply 
which  he,  as  abruptly,  gave  me.  But,  ever  afterwards,  he  got  cross,  when 
I  alluded  to  the  subject.  On  one  occasion,  1  gave  him  the  sign,  which  lie 
repeated,  while  he  asked,  with  much  tartness  of  manner,  “  What  is  that — 
what  does  it  mean  ?”  This  was  a  roguish  Gipsy,  and  was  afterwards  lodged 
in  jail. 

On  one  occasion,  I  met  with  a  German  cutler,  in  a  place  of  business,  in 
New  York.  I  felt  sure  he  was  a  Gipsy,  although  the  world  would  not  have 
taken  him  for  one.  Catching  his  eye,  I  commenced  to  look  around  the  room, 
from  those  present  to  himself,  as  if  there  was  to  be  something  confidential 
between  us,  and  then  whispered  to  him,  “  Cullo  chabo,”  (Gipsy,  or  black  fel¬ 
low  ;)  and  the  effect  was  instantaneous.  I  afterwards  visited  his  family,  on 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


417 


For  these  reasons,  it  seems  to  be  beyond  question  that  the 
number  at  which  our  author  estimates  them  in  Scotland,  viz., 
5,000,  must  be  vastly  below  the  real  number.  If  I  were  to 
say  100,000,  I  do  not  think  I  would  over-estimate  them. 
The  opinion  of  the  Gipsies  whom  our  author  questioned 
was  a  guess,  so  far  as  it  referred  to  the  class  to  which  they 
belonged,  or  with  which  they  were  acquainted  ;  so  that,  if 
we  take  all  kinds  of  Gipsies  into  account,  it  would  be  a  very 
moderate  estimate  to  set  the  Scottish  Gipsies  down  at 
100,000  ;  and  those  in  all  the  British  Isles  at  300,000.  The 
number  might  be  double  what  I  have  stated.  The  intelli¬ 
gent  English  Gipsies  say  that,  in  England,  they  are  not  only 
“  dreadfully  mixed,”  but  extremely  numerous.  There  is  not 
a  race  of  men  on  the  face  of  the  earth  more,  prolific  than 
tented  Gipsies  ;  in  a  word,  tented  Gipsydom,  if  I  may  hazard 
such  an  expression,  is,  comparatively  speaking,  like  a  rabbit 
warren.  The  rough  and  uncouth  kind  of  settled  Gipsies  are 
likewise  very  prolific  ;  but  the  higher  classes,  as  a  rule,  are 
by  no  means  so  much  so.  To  set  down  any  specific  number 
of  Gipsies  to  be  found  in  the  British  Isles,  would  be  a  thing 
too  arbitrary  to  serve  any  purpose  ;  I  think  sufficient  data 
have  been  given  to  enable  the  intelligent  reader  to  form  an 
opinion  for  himself.* 

a  Sabbath  evening,  and  took  tea  with  them.  They  were  from  Wurtemberg, 
and  appeared  very  decent  people.  The  mother,  a  tall,  swarthy,  fine  look¬ 
ing  intelligent  young  woman,  said  grace,  which  was  repeated  by  the  chil¬ 
dren.  whom  1  found  learning  their  Sabbath  school  lessons.  The  family 
regularly’ attend  church.  A  fair-haired  German  called,  and  went  to  church 
with  the  Gipsy  himself.  What  with  the  appearance  of  everything  about 
the  house,  and  the  fine,  clean,  and  neatly-dressed  family  of  children,  I  felt 
very  much  pleased  with  my  visit. 

French  and  German  Gipsies  are  very  shy,  owing  to  the  severity  of  the 
laws  against  their  race. 

*  Fletcher,  of  Saltoun,  speaks  of  there  being  constantly  a  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  people  in  Scotland,  leading  the  life  (as  Sir  Walter  Scott  describes  it,) 
of  “  Gipsies,  Jockies,  or  Cairds.”  Between  the  time  alluded  to  and  the  date 
of  John  Faw’s  league  with  James  V.,  a  period  of  140  years  had  elapsed  ; 
and  174  years  from  the  date  of  arrival  of  the  race  in  the  country:  so  that, 
from  the  natural  encrease  of  the  body,  and  the  large  amount  of  white  blood 
introduced  into  it,  the  greater  part,  if  not  the  whole,  of  the  people  men¬ 
tioned,  were  doubtless  Gipsies.  But  these  Gipsies,  according  to  Sir  Wal¬ 
ter’s  opinion,  “  died  out  by  a  change  of  habits.”  How  strange  it  is  that 
the  very  first  class  Scottish  minds  should  have  so  little  understood  the 
philosophy  of  origin,  blood,  and  descent,  and  especially  ns  they  applied  to 
the  Gipsies!  For  Sir  Walter  says:  “  The  progress  of  time,  and  encrease 
both  of  the  means  of  life  and  the  power  of  the  laws,  gradually  reduced 
this  dreadful  evil  within  more  narrow  bounds . Their  numbers  are 


418 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


That  many  Gipsies  were  banished  to  America,  in  colonial 
times,  from  England,  Wales,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  some¬ 
times  for  merely  being  “by  habit  and  repute  Gipsies,”  is 
beyond  dispute.  “Your  Welsh  and  Irish,”  said  an  English 
Gipsy,  in  the  United  States,  “  were  so  mean,  when  they 
banished  a  Gipsy  to  the  Plantations,  as  to  make  him  find 
his  own  passage  ;  but  the  English  always  paid  the  Gipsy’s 
passage  for  him.”  The  Scotch  seem  also  to  have  made  the 
Gipsy  find  his  own  passage,  and  failing  that,  to  have  hanged 
him.  It  greatly  interests  the  English  Gipsies  arriving  in 
America,  to  know  about  the  native  American  Gipsies.  I 
have  been  frequently  in  the  company  of  an  English  Gipsy, 
in  America,  whose  great-grandfather  was  so  banished  ;  but 
he  did  not  relish  the  subject  being  spoken  of.  Gipsies  may 
be  said  to  have  been  in  America  almost  from  the  time  of  its 
settlement.  We  have  already  seen  how  many  of  them  found 
their  way  there,  during  the  Revolution,  by  being  impressed 
as  soldiers,  and  taken  as  volunteers,  for  the  benefit  of  the 

so  greatly  diminished,  that,  instead  of  one  hundred  thousand,  as  calculated 
by  Fletcher,  it  would  now,  perhaps,  be  impossible  to  collect  above  five  hun¬ 
dred  throughout  all  Scotland  (!)”  It  is  perfectly  evident  that  Sir  Walter 
Scott,  in  common  with  many  others,  never  realized  the  idea,  in  all  its  bear¬ 
ings,  of  what  a  Gipsy  was ;  or  he  never  could  have  imagined  that  those, 
only,  were  of  the  Gipsy  race,  who  followed  the  tent. 

It  is  very  doubtful  if  Anthonius  Gawino,  and  his  tribe,  departed  with 
their  letter  of  introduction  from  James  IV.  to  his  uncle,  the  king  of  Den¬ 
mark,  in  1506.  Having  secured  the  favour  of  the  king  of  Scots,  by  this 
recommendatory  notice,  he  was  more  apt,  by  delaying  his  departure,  to  se¬ 
cure  his  position  in  the  country.  The  circumstances  attending  the  league 
with  his  successor,  John  Faw,  show  that  the  tribe  had  been  long  in  the 
country;  doubtless  from  as  far  back  as  1506.  From  1506  till  1579,  with 
the  exception  of  about  one  year,  during  the  reign  of  James  V.,  the  tribe,  as 
I  have  already  said,  (page  109,)  must  have  encreased  prodigiously.  The 
persecutions  against  the  body  extended  over  the  reign  of  James  VI.,  and 
part  of  that  of  Charles  I.  ;  for,  according  to  Baron  Hume,  such  was  the 
terror  which  the  executions  inspired  in  the  tribe,  that,  “  for  the  space  of  more 
than  50  years  from  that  time,  (1624,)  there  is  no  trial  of  an  Egyptian;” 
although  our  author  shows  that  an  execution  of  a  band  of  them  took  place 
in  1636.  But  “towards  the  end  of  that  century,”  continues  Baron  Hume, 
“  the  nuisance  seems  to  have  again  become  troublesome  ;”  in  other  words, 
that  from  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  to  the  accession  of  William  and  Mary, 
the  time  to  which  Fletcher’s  remark  applies,  the  attention  of  all  being  taken 
up  with  the  troubles  of  the  times,  the  Gipsies  had  things  pretty  much  their 
own  way ;  but  when  peace  was  restored,  they  would  be  called  to  strict 
account. 

For  all  these  reasons,  it  may  be  said  that  the  100,000  people  spoken  of 
were  doubtless  Gipsies  of  various  mixtures  of  blood ;  so  that,  at  the  pres¬ 
ent  day,  there  ougld  to  be  a  very  large  number  of  the  tribe  in  Scotland.  I 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


419 


bounty  and  passage  ;  and  how  they  deserted  on  landing. 
Tented  Gipsies  have  been  seen  about  Baltimore  for  the  last 
seventy  years.  In  New  England,  a  colony  is  known  which 
lias  existed  for  about  a  hundred  years,  and  has  always  been 
looked  upon  with  a  singular  feeling  of  distrust  and  mystery 
by  the  inhabitants,  who  are  the  descendants  of  the  early 
emigrants,  and  who  did  not  suspect  their  origin  till  lately. 
These  Gipsies  have  never  associated,  in  the  common  sense 
of  the  word,  with  the  other  settlers,  and,  judging  from  their 
exterior,  seem  poor  and  miserable,  whatever  their  circum¬ 
stances  may  be.  They  follow  pretty  much  the  employment 
and  modes  of  life  of  the  same  class  in  Europe  ;  the  most 
striking  feature  being,  that  the  bulk  of  them  leave  the  home¬ 
stead  for  a  length  of  time,  scatter  in  different  directions, 
and  reunite,  periodically,  at  their  quarters,  which  are  left 
in  charge  of  some  of  the  feeble  members  of  the  band. 

It  is  not  likely  that  many  of  the  colonial  Gipsies  would 
take  to  the  tent  ;  for,  arriving,  for  the  most  part,  as  individ¬ 
uals,  separated  from  family  relations,  they  were  more  apt 
to  follow  settled,  semi-settled,  or  general  itinerant  occupa¬ 
tions  ;  and  the  more  so,  as  the  face  of  the  country,  and  the 
thin  and  scattered  settlements,  would  hardly  admit  of  it. 
The)-  were  apt  to  squat  on  wild  or  unoccupied  lands,  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  towns  and  settlements,  like  their  brethren 
in  Europe,  when  they  took  up  their  quarters  on  the  borders 
of  well-settled  districts,  with  a  wild  country  to  fall  back  on, 
in  times  of  danger  or  prosecution  by  the  lawful  authori¬ 
ties.  Besides  disposing  of  themselves,  to  some  little  extent, 
in  this  way,  many  of  the  Gipsies,  banished,  or  going  to  the 
colonies  of  their  own  accord,  would  betake  themselves  to  the 
various  occupations  common  to  the  ordinary  emigrants  ;  the 
more  especially  as,  when  they  arrived,  they  would  find  a  field 

admit  that  many  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  been  hanged,  and  many  ban¬ 
ished  to  the  Plantations ;  but  these  would  be  in  a  small  ratio  to  their  num¬ 
ber,  and  a  still  smaller  to  the  natural  encrease  of  the  body.  Suppose  that 
such  and  such  Gipsies  were  either  hanged  or  banished  ;  so  young  did  they 
all  marry,  that,  when  they  were  hanged  or  banished,  they  might  leave  be¬ 
hind  them  families  ranging  from  five  to  ten  children.  We  may  say,  of  the 
Scottish  Gipsies  generally,  in  days  that  are  past,  what  a  writer  in  Black¬ 
wood’s  Magazine,  already  alluded  to,  said  of  Billy  Marshall:  “Their  de¬ 
scendants  were  prodigiously  numerous ;  I  dare  say,  numberless.”  Many 
of  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  migrated  to  England,  as  well  as  elsewhere. 
In  Liverpool,  there  are  many  of  them,  following  various  mechanical  occu¬ 
pations. 


420 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


in  which  they  were  not  known  to  be  Gipsies  ;  which  would 
give  them  greater  scope  and  confidence,  and  enable  them  to 
go  anywhere,  or  enter  upon  any  employment,  where,  not 
being  known  to  be  Gipsies,  they  would  meet  with  no  preju¬ 
dice  to  contend  with.  Indeed,  a  new  country,  in  which  the 
people  had,  more  or  less,  to  be,  in  a  sense,  tinkers,  that  is, 
jaeks-of-all-trades,  and  masters  of  none,  was  just  the  sphere 
of  a  handy  Gipsy,  who  could  “  do  a’  most  of  things.”  They 
would  turn  to  the  tinkering,  peddling,  horse-dealing,  tavern¬ 
keeping,  and  almost  all  the  ordinary  mechanical  trades,  and, 
among  others,  broom-making.  Perhaps  the  foundation  of 
the  American  broom  manufacture  was  laid  by  the  British 
Gipsies,  by  whom  it  may  be  partly  carried  on  at  the  present 
day  ;  a  business  they  pretty  much  monopolize,  in  a  rough 
way,  in  Great  Britain.  We  will  doubtless  find,  among  the 
fraternity,  some  of  those  whittling,  meddling  Sam  Slick  ped¬ 
dlers,  so  often  described  :  I  have  seen  some  of  those  itiner¬ 
ant  venders  of  knife-sharpeners,  and  such  “  Yankee  notions,” 
with  dark,  glistening  eyes,  that  would  “  pass  for  the  article.” 
Some  of  them  would  live  by  less  legitimate  business.  I  en¬ 
tertain  no  doubt,  what  from  the  general  fitness  of  things, 
and  the  appearance  of  some  of  the  men,  that  we  will  find 
some  of  the  descendants  of  the  old  British  mixed  Gipsies 
members  of  the  various  establishments  of  Messrs.  Peter 
Funks  and  Company*  of  the  city  of  New  York,  as  well  as 
elsewhere.  And  I  entertain  as  little  doubt  that  many  of 
those  American  women  who  tell  fortunes,  and  engage  in 
those  many  curious  bits  of  business  that  so  often  come  up 
at  trials,  are  descendants  of  the  British  plantation  stock  of 
Gipsies.  But  there  are  doubtless  many  of  these  Gipsies  in 
respectable  spheres  of  life.  It  would  be  extremely  unrea¬ 
sonable  to  say  that  the  descendants  of  the  colonial  Gipsies 
do  not  still  exist  as  Gipsies,  like  their  brethren  in  Great 
Britain,  and  other  parts  of  the  Old  World.  The  English 
Gipsies  in  America  entertain  no  doubt  of  it ;  the  more  es¬ 
pecially  as  they  have  encountered  such  Gipsies,  of  at  least 
two  descents.  I  have  myself  met  with  such  a  Gipsy,  follow¬ 
ing  a  decidedly  respectable  calling,  whom  I  found  as  much 
one  of  the  tribe,  barring  the  original  habits,  as  perhaps  any 
one  in  Europe. 

There  are  many  Hungarian  and  German  Gipsies  in  Amer- 
*  Pfter  Punks  dc  Co. :  Mopk  auctioneers  of  mock  jewelry,  <fcc.,  <Lc. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


421 


ica  ;  some  of  them  long  settled  in  Pennsylvania  and  Mary¬ 
land,  where  they  own  farms.  Some  of  them  leave  their 
farms  in  charge  of  hired  hands,  during  the  summer,  and  pro¬ 
ceed  South  with  their  tents.  In  the  State  of  Pennsylvania, 

there  is  a  settlement  of  them,  on  the  J - river,  a  little 

way  above  H - ,  where  they  have  saw-mills.  About  the 

Alleghany  Mountains,  there  are  many  of  the  tribe,  following 
somewhat  the  original  ways  of  the  race.  In  the  United 
States  generally,  there  are  many  Gipsy  peddlers,  British  as 
well  as  continental.  There  are  a  good  many  Gipsies  in 
New  York — English,  Irish,  and  continental — some  of  whom 
keep  tin,  crockery,  and  basket  stores  ;  but  these  are  all 
mixed  Gipsies,  and  many  of  them  of  fair  complexion.  The 
tin-ware  which  they  make  is  generally  of  a  plain,  coarse 
kind  ;  so  much  so,  that  a  Gipsy  tin  store  is  easily  known. 
They  frequently  exhibit  their  tin-ware  and  baskets  on  the 
streets,  and  carry  them  about  the  city.  Almost  all,  if  not 
all,  of  those  itinerant  cutlers  and  tinkers,  to  be  met  with  in 
New  York,  and  other  American  cities,  are  Gipsies,  princi¬ 
pally  German,  Hungarian,  and  French.  There  are  a  good 
many  Gipsy  musicians  in  America.  “  What!”  said  I,  to  an 
English  Gipsy,  “  those  organ-grinders  ?”  “  Nothing  so  low  as 
that.  Gipsies  don’t  grind  their  music,  sir  ;  they  make  it.” 
But  I  found  in  his  house,  when  occupied  by  other  Gipsies,  a 
hurdy-gurdy  and  tambourine  ;  so  that  Gipsies  sometimes 
grind  music,  as  well  as  make  it.  I  know  of  a  Hungarian 
Gipsy  who  is  leader  of  a  Negro  musical  band,  in  the  city  of 
New  York  ;  his  brother  drives  one  of  the  Avenue  cars. 
There  are  a  number  of  Gipsy  musicians  in  Baltimore,  who 
play  at  parties,  and  on  other  occasions.  Some  of  the  for¬ 
tune-telling  Gipsy  women  about  New  York  will  make  as 
much  as  forty  dollars  a  week  in  that  line  of  business.  They 
generally  live  a  little  way  out  of  the  city,  into  which  they 
ride,  in  the  morning,  to  their  places  of  business.  I  know  of 
one,  who  resides  in  New  Jersey,  opposite  New  York,  and 
who  has  a  place  in  the  city,  to  which  ladies,  that  is,  females 
of  the  highest  classes,  address  their  cards,  for  her  to  call 
upon  them.  When  she  gets  a  chance  of  a  young  fellow  with 
his  female  friend,  she  “  puts  the  screws  on  ;”  for  she  knows 
well  that  he  dare  not  “  back  out  ;”  so  she  frequently  man¬ 
ages  to  squeeze  five  dollars  out  of  him. 

Many  hundred,  perhaps  several  thousand,  of  English 


422 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


tented,  and  partly  tented  Gipsies,  have  arrived  in  America 
within  the  last  ten  years.  They,  for  the  most  part,  travel, 
and  have  travelled  every  State  in  the  Union,  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  as  well  as  the  British  Provinces,  as  horse- 
dealers,  peddlers,  doctors,  exhibitors,  fortune-tellers,  and 
tramps  generally.  Such  English  Gipsies,  above  all  men  in 
America,  may,  with  the  greatest  propriety,  say, 

“  No  pent-up  Utica  contracts  our  powers. 

But  the  ■whole  boundless  continent  is  ours.” 

The  fortune-tellers,  every  time  they  set  out  on  their  peregri¬ 
nations,  choose  a  new  route  ;  for  they  say  it  is  more  difficult 
to  go  over  the  same  ground  in  America,  than  it  is  in  Eng¬ 
land.  The  horse-dealers  say  that  Jonathan  is  a  good  judge 
of  a  horse  ;  that  sometimes  they  get  the  advantage  of  him, 
and  sometimes  he  of  them  ;  but  that  his  demand  for  a  war¬ 
ranty  sometimes  bothers  them  a  deal.  “  What  then  ?”  I  asked. 
“  Well,  we  give  him  a  warranty  ;  and  should  the  beast  hap¬ 
pen  to  turn  out  wrong,  let  him  catch  us  if  he  can  !”  It  is 
really  astonishing  how  sensibly  these  English  Gipsies  talk 
of  American  affairs  generally  ;  they  are  very  discriminating 
in  their  remarks,  and  wonderfully  observant  of  places  and 
localities.  They  do  not  like  the  Negroes.  In  their  so¬ 
ciety  they  drop  the  name  of  king,  and  adopt  that  of  presi¬ 
dent.  “  Cunning  fellows,”  said  I,  “  to  eschew  the  name  of 
king,  and  look  down  upon  Negroes.  That  will  do,  in 
America !” 

I  have  found  the  above  kind  of  Gipsies,  in  America,  to  be 
generally  pretty  well  off ;  they  all  seem  to  flourish,  and 
have  plenty  of  money  about  them.  The  fortune-telling,  horse¬ 
dealing,  and  peddling  branches  of  them  have  a  fine  field  for 
following  their  respective  businesses.  America,  indeed,  is  a 
“  great  country”  for  the  Gipsies  ;  for  it  contains  “  no  end” 
of  chickens,  to  say  nothing  of  ducks,  geese,  and  turkeys, 
many  of  which  are  carried  off  by  varmint ,  anyhow.  There, 
they  will  find,  for  some  time,  many  opportunities  of  gather¬ 
ing  rich  harvests,  among  what  has  been  termed  the  shrewd¬ 
est,  but,  in  some  things,  the  most  gullible,  of  mortals,  as  an 
instance  may  illustrate.  A  Gipsy  woman,  known  as  such, 
drags,  into  the  meshes  of  her  necromancy,  ’cute  Jonathan  ; 
who,  with  an  infinite  reliance  on  his  own  smartness,  to  “  try 
the  skill  of  the  critter,”  by  her  directions,  ties  up,  in  gold 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


423 


and  paper,  something  like  a  thousand  dollars,  and,  after  she 
has  passed  her  hands  over  it,  and  muttered  a  few  cabalistic 
words,  deposits  it  in  his  strong  box.  She  sets  a  day,  on 
which  she  calls,  handles  the  “  dimes,”  while  muttering  some 
more  expressions,  rather  accidentally  drops  them,  then  re¬ 
turns  them  to  the  box,  and  sets  another  day  when  she  will 
call,  and  add  much  to  his  wealth.  She  does  not  appear, 
however,  on  the  day  mentioned.  Our  simpleton  gets  first 
anxious,  then  excited,  then  suspicious,  then  examines  his 
“  pile,”  and  finds  it  transformed  into  a  lot  of  copper  and  old 
paper  !  For,  in  dropping  the  parcel,  Meg  does  it  adroitly 
about  the  folds  of  her  dress,  quickly  substitutes  another,  ex¬ 
actly  alike,  and  makes  off  with  the  fruits  of  her  labour. 
Then  come  the  hue  and  cry,  telegraphing,  and  dispatching 
of  warrants  everywhere.  But  why  need  he  trouble  himself? 
So,  after  a  harder  day’s  work  than,  perhaps,  he  ever  under¬ 
went  in  his  life,  he  returns  home  :  but  knowing  the  sym¬ 
pathy  lie  will  find  there,  he  puts  on  his  best  face,  and,  to 
have  the  first  word  of  it,  (for  he  is  not  to  be  laughed  at,) 
wipes  his  forehead,  twitches  his  mouth,  winks  his  eyes,  and 
remarks  :  “  Waal,  I  reckon  I’ve  been  most  darnedly  sold,  any¬ 
how  !”  Such  occurrences  are  very  common  among  almost 
all  classes  of  rural  Americans.  Sometimes  it  is  to  discover 
treasure  on  the  individual’s  lands,  or  in  the  neighbourhood  ; 
sometimes  a  mine,  and  sometimes  an  Indian,  a  trapper,  a 
pirate,  or  a  revolutionary  deposit.  When  the  Gipsy  es¬ 
capes  with  her  spoil,  she  frequently  makes  for  her  home,  but 
where  that  is,  no  one  knows.  On  being  molested,  while  there, 
she  produces  friends,  in  fair  standing,  who  prove  an  alibi  ; 
and,  with  the  further  assistance  of  a  well-feed  lawyer,  de¬ 
fies  all  the  requisitions,  made  by  the  governors  of  neighbour¬ 
ing  States,  for  her  delivery.  At  other  times,  she  will  divide 
with  the  inferior  authorities,  or  surrender  the  whole  of  the 
plunder ;  for,  to  go  to  jail  she  will  not,  if  she  can  help  it.* 

*  If  the  real  characters  of  those  “  lady  fortune  tellers,”  who  flourish  so 
much  in  the  large  cities,  and  publicly  profess  to  reveal  all  matters  in  “  love 
and  law,  health  and  wealth,  losses  and  crosses,”  were  to  be  ascertained, 
many  of  them  would,  in  all  probability,  be  found  to  belong  to  a  superior 
class  of  Gipsies.  And  this  may  much  more  be  said  of  the  more  humble 
ones,  who  trust  to  the  gossipping  of  a  class — and  tiiat  a  respectable  class  of 
females,  for  the  advertising  of  their  calling.  For  a  certainty,  those  are 
Gipsies  who  stroll  about,  telling  fortunes  for  dimes,  clothes,  or  old  bottles. 
The  advertising  members  form  a  very  small  part  of  the  fraternity.  The 


424 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


In  Virginia,  the  more  original  kind  of  Gipsies  are  very 
frequently  to  be  met  with.  It  is  in  the  Slave  States  they 
are  more  apt  to  flourish  in  the  olden  form.  The  planters 
need  not  trouble  themselves  about  their  tampering  with  the 
Negroes,  for  they  have  no  sympathy  with  them.  Were  it 
otherwise,  they  would  soon  be  mum,  on  finding  what  the  re¬ 
sults  would  be  to  them.  I  have  given  some  of  them  some 
useful  hints  on  that  score.  The  general  disposition  of  the 
people,  the  want  of  learning  among  so  many  of  them,  the  dis¬ 
tances  between  dwellings,  the  small  villages,  the  handy  me¬ 
chanical  services  of  the  Gipsies,  the  uncultivated  tracts  of 
land,  the  game  of  various  kinds,  and  the  climate,  seem  to 
point  out  some  of  the  Slave  States  as  an  elysium  for  the  Gip¬ 
sies  ;  unless  the  wealthier  part  of  the  inhabitants  should  use 
the  poorer  class  as  tools  to  drive  them  out  of  the  coun¬ 
try.* 

There  are  a  good  many  very  respectable  Scottish  Gipsies 
in  the  United  States  ;  but  I  do  not  wish  to  be  too  minute  in 
describing  them.  In  Canada,  I  know  of  a  doctor,  a  lawyer, 
and  an  editor,  Scottish  Gipsies.  The  fact  of  the  matter  is, 
that,  owing  to  the  mixture  of  the  blood,  the  improvement, 
and  perpetuation,  and  secrecy,  of  the  race,  there  may  be 
many,  very  many,  Gipsies,  in  almost  every  place  in  the 
world,  and  other  people  not  know  of  it :  and  it  is  not 

extent  to  which  such  business  is  patronized,  by  Americans,  of  both  sexes, 
and  of  almost  all  positions  in  society  is  such,  that  it  is  doubtful  if  the 
English  reader  would  credit  it,  if  it  were  put  on  record. 

*  When  travelling  on  the  stage,  towards  Lake  Huron,  in  Canada,  I  was 
surprised  at  finding  a  Gipsy  tent  on  the  road-side,  with  a  man  sitting  in 
front  of  it,  engaged  in  the  mysteries  of  the  tinker.  I  met  a  camp  of  Gip¬ 
sies  on  a  vacant  space,  beside  a  clump  of  trees,  in  Hamilton,  at  the  head  of 
Lake  Ontario,  but  I  deferred  visiting  them  till  the  following  morning. 
When  I  returned  to  the  spot,  I  found  that  the  birds  li ad  flown.  Feeling 
disappointed,  I  began  to  question  a  man  who  kept  a  toll-bar,  immediately 
opposite  to  where  their  tents  had  been, as  to  their  peculiarities  generally; 
when  he  said :  “  They  seemed  droll  kind  o’  folk — quite  like  ourselves — no 
way  foreign  ;  yet  I  could  not  understand  a  word  they  were  saying  among 
themselves.”  Shortly  after  this,  a  company  of  them  entered  a  shop,  in  the 
same  town,  to  buy  tin,  when  l  happened  to  be  in  it.  I  accosted  one  of  the 
mothers  of  the  company,  in  an  abrupt  but  bland  tone.  “  You’re  a’  Naw- 
kens  (Gipsies)  I  see.” — “  Ou  ay,  we’re  Nawkens,”  was  her  immediate  reply, 
accompanied  by  a  smile  on  her  weather-beaten  countenance.  “  You’ll  aye 
speak  the  language?”  I  continued.  “  Well  ne’er  forget  that,”  she  again  re¬ 
plied.  This  seemed  to  bo  a  company  of  Gipsies  from  the  Scottish  Border; 
for  the  woman  spoke  about  the  broadest  Scotch  I  ever  heard.  Ihey  dressed 
well,  and  bore  a  good  reputation  in  the  neighbourhood. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


425 


likely  that,  at  the  present  time,  they  will  say  that  they  are 
Gipsies.  Indeed,  the  intelligent#English  travelling  Gipsies 
say  that  there  are  an  immense  number  of  Gipsies,  of  all  coun¬ 
tries,  colours,  and  occupations,  in  America. 

There  is  even  some  resemblance  between  the  formation  of 
Gipsydom  and  that  of  the  United  States.  The  children  of 
emigrants,  it  is  well  known,  frequently  prove  the  most  ultra 
Americans.  Instead  of  the  original  colonists,  at  the  Decla¬ 
ration  of  Independence,  imagine  the  commencement  of  Gip¬ 
sydom  as  proceeding  from  the  original  stock  of  Gipsies. 
The  addition  to  their  number,  from  without,  differs  from 
that  which  takes  place  among  Americans,  in  this  way  :  that 
all  such  additions  to  Gipsydom  are  made  in  such  a  manner, 
that  the  new  blood  gets  innoculated,  as  it  were,  with  the 
old,  or  part  of  the  old  ;  so  that  it  may  be  said  of  the  whole 
body, 

One  drop  of  blood  makes  all  Gipsydom  akin. 

The  simple  fact  of  a  person  having  Gipsy  blood  in  his  veins, 
in  addition  to  the  rearing  of  a  Gipsy  parent,  acts  upon  him 
like  a  shock  of  electricity  ;  it  makes  him  spring  to  his  feet, 
and — “  snap  his  teeth  at  other  dogs  !”  A  very  important 
circumstance  contributing  to  this  state  of  things  is  the  an¬ 
tipathy  which  mankind  have  for  the  very  name  of  Gipsy, 
which,  as  I  have  already  said,  they  all  take  to  themselves  ; 
insomuch  that  the  better  class  will  not  face  it.  They  imagine 
that,  socially  speaking,  they  are  among  the  damned,  and  they 
naturally  cast  their  lot  with  the  damned.  Still,  the  antag¬ 
onistic  spirit  which  would  naturally  arise  towards  society, 
in  the  minds  of  such  Gipsies,  remains,  in  a  measure,  latent ; 
for  they  feel  confident  in  their  incognito,  while  moving 
among  their  fellow-creatures  ;  which  circumstance  robs  it  of 
its  sting. 

Let  a  Lowlander,  in  times  that  are  past,  but  have  cast  up 
a  Highlander’s  blood  to  him,  and  what  would  have  been  the 
consequences?  “  Her  ainscl  would  have  drawn  her  dirk,  or 
whipped  out  her  toasting-iron,  and  seen  which  was  the  pret¬ 
tiest.  man.”  Let  the  same  have  been  done  to  a  Scottish 
Gipsy,  in  comparatively  recent  times,  and  he  would  have 
taken  his  own  peculiar  revenge.  See  how  the  Baillics,  as 
mentioned  under  the  chapter  of  Tweed-dale  and  Clydesdale 
Gipsies,  mounted  on  horseback,  and  with  drawn  swords  in 


42  G 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


their  hands,  threatened  death  to  all  who  opposed  them,  for 
an  affront  offered  to  their  mother.  Twit  a  respectable 
Gipsy  with  his  blood,  at  the  present  day,  and  he  would  suf¬ 
fer  in  silence  ;  for,  by  getting  into  a  passion,  he  would  let 
himself  out.  For  this  reason,  it  would  be  unmanly  to  hint 
it  to  him,  in  any  tone  of  disparagement.  The  difference  of 
feeling  between  the  two  races,  at  the  present  day,  proceeds 
from  positive  ignorance  on  the  part  of  the  native  towards 
the  other  ;  an  ignorance  in  which  the  Gipsy  would  rather 
allow  him  to  remain  ;  for,  let  him  turn  himself  in  whatever 
direction  he  may,  he  imagines  he  sees,  and  perhaps  does  see, 
nothing  but  a  dark  mountain  of  prejudice  existing  between 
him  and  every  other  of  his  fellow-creatures.  He  would 
rather  retain  his  incognito,  and  allow  his  race  to  go  down 
to  posterity  shrouded  in  its  present  mystery.  The  history 
of  the  Gipsy  race  in  Scotland,  more,  perhaps,  than  in  any 
other  country,  shows,  to  the  eye  of  the  world,  as  few  traces 
of  its  existence  as  would  a  fox,  in  passing  over  a  ploughed 
field.  The  farmer  might  see  the  foot-prints  of  reynard,  but 
how  is  he  to  find  reynard  himself?  He  must  bring  out  the 
dogs  and  have  a  hunt  for  him.  As  an  Indian  of  the  prairie, 
while  on  the  “  war  path,”  cunningly  arranges  the  long  grass 
into  its  natural  position,  as  he  passes  through  it,  to  prevent 
his  enemy  following  him.  so  has  the  Scottish  Gipsy,  as  he 
entered  upon  a  settled  life,  destroyed,  to  the  eye  of  the  or¬ 
dinary  native,  every  trace  of  his  being  a  Gipsy.  Still,  I 
cannot  doubt  but  that  he  has  misgivings  that,  some  day,  he 
will  be  called  up  to  judgment,  and  that  all  about  him  will 
be  exposed  to  the  world. 

What  is  it  that  troubles  the  educated  Gipsies  ?  Nothing 
but  the  word  Gipsy ;  a  word  which,  however  swrnet  when 
used  among  themselves,  conveys  an  ugly,  blackguard,  and 
vagabond  meaning  to  other  people.  The  poet  asks,  What  is 
there  in  a  name  ?  and  I  reply,  Everything,  as  regards  the  name 
Gipsy.  For  a  respectable  Scottish  Gipsy  to  say  to  the  public, 
that  “his  mother  is  a  Gipsy,”  or,  that  “  his  wife  is  a  Gipsy,”  or, 
that  “  he  is  a  Gipsy;”  such  a  Gipsy  simply  could  not  do  it. 
These  Gipsies  will  hardly  ever  use  the  word  among  themselves, 
except  in  very  select  circles  ;  but  they  will  say  “  lie’s  one  of 
us  “  lie’s  from  Yetholm  “  he’s  from  the  metropolis,” 
(Yetholm  being  the  metropolis  of  Scottish  Gipsydom;)  or,  “lie’s 
a  traveller.”  If  the  company  is  not  over  classical,  they  will 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


427 


say  “  lie’s  from  the  black  quarry,”  or,  “  he’s  been  with  the  cud¬ 
dies.”  Imagine  a  select  party  of  educated  Scottish  Gipsies, 
all  closely  related.  They  will  then  chatter  Gipsy  over  their 
tea  ;  but  if  a  person  should  drop  in,  one  of  the  party,  who  is 
not  acquainted  with  him,  will  nudge  and  whisper  to  another, 
“  Is  he  one  of  the  tribe  ?”  or,  “  Is  he  one  of  us  ?”  The  better 
class  of  Scottish  Gipsies  arc  very  exclusive  in  matters  of 
this  kind. 

All  things  considered,  in  what  other  position  could  the 
Gipsy  race,  in  Scotland  especially,  be,  at  the  present  day, 
than  that  described?  How  can  we  imagine  a  race  of  peo¬ 
ple  to  act  otherwise  than  hide  themselves,  if  they  could,  from 
the  odium  that  attaches  to  the  name  of  Gipsy  ?  And  what 
estimate  should  we  place  on  that  charity  which  would  lead 
a  person  to  denounce  a  Gipsy,  should  he  deny  himself  to  be 
a  Gipsy  ?*  As  a  race,  what  can  they  offer  to  society  at 
large  to  receive  them  within  its  circle?  They  can  offer  lit¬ 
tle,  as  a  race  ;  but,  if  we  consider  them  as  individuals,  we 
will  find  many  of  them  whose  education,  character,  and  po¬ 
sition  in  life,  would  warrant  their  admission  into  any  ordi¬ 
nary  society,  and  some  of  them  into  any  society.  Notwith¬ 
standing  all  that,  none  will  answer  up  to  the  name  of  Gipsy. 
It  necessarily  follows,  that  the  race  must  remain  shrouded 
in  its  present  mystery,  unless  some  one,  not  of  the  race, 
should  become  acquainted  with  its  history,  and  speak  for 
it.  In  Scotland,  the  prejudice  towards  the  name  of  Gipsy 
might  be  safely  allowed  to  drop,  were  it  only  for  this  reason  : 
that  the  race  has  got  so  much  mixed  up  with  the  native 
blood,  and  even  with  good  families  of  the  country,  as  to 
be,  in  plain  language,  a  jumble — a  pretty  kettle  of  fish,  in¬ 
deed.  One’s  uncle,  in  seeking  for  a  wife,  might  have 
stumbled  over  an  Egyptian  woman,  and,  either  known  or 
unknown  to  himself,  had  his  children  brought  up  bitter 
Gipsies ;  so  that  one’s  cousins  may  be  Gipsies,  for  any¬ 
thing  one  knows.  A  man  may  have  a  colony  of  Gipsies  in 
his  own  house,  and  know  nothing  about  it  1  The  Gipsies 
died  out?  Oli,  no.  They  commenced  in  Scotland  by  wring¬ 
ing  the  necks  of  one’s  chickens ,  and  now  they  sometimes 

*  Mixed  Gipsies  tell  no  lies,  when  they  say  that  they  are  not  Gipsies; 
for,  physiologically  speaking,  they  are  not  Gipsies,  but  only  partly  Gipsies, 
as  regards  blood.  In  every  other  wav  they  are  Gipsies,  that  is,  chabos, 
calos,  or  chals. 


428 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


. !  But  wliat  is  Gipsydom,  after  all,  but  a 

“  working  in  among  other  people?” 

In  seeking  for  Gipsies  among  Scotch  people,  I  know  where 
to  begin,  but  it  puzzles  me  where  to  leave  off.  I  would  pay 
no  regard  to  colour  of  hair  or  eyes,  character,  employment, 
position,  or,  indeed,  any  outward  thing.  The  reader  may  say  : 
“  It  must  be  a  difficult  matter  to  detect  such  mixed  and  edu¬ 
cated  Gipsies  as  those  spoken  of.”  It  is  not  only  difficult, 
but  outwardly  impossible.  Such  Gipsies  cannot  even  tell 
each  other,  from  their  personal  appearance  ;  but  they  have 
signs,  which  they  can  use,  if  the  others  choose  to  respond  to 
them.  If  I  go  into  a  company  which  I  have  reason  to  be¬ 
lieve  is  a  Gipsy  one,  and  it  know  nothing  of  me,  so  far  as 
my  pursuit  is  concerned,  I  will  bring  the  subject  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  up,  in  a  very  roundabout  way,  and  mark  the  effect  which, 
the  conversation  makes,  or  the  turn  it  takes.  What  I  know 
of  the  subject,  and  of  the  ignorance  of  mankind  generally  in 
regard  to  it,  enables  me  to  say,  in  almost  every  instance, 
who  they  are,  let  them  make  any  remark  they  like,  look  as 
they  like,  pretend  what  they  like,  wriggle  about  as  they  like, 
or  keep  dead  silent.  As  I  gradually  glide  into  the  subject, 
and  expatiate  upon  the  “  greatness  of  the  society,”  one  re¬ 
marks,  “  I  know  it ;”  upon  the  “  respectability  of  some  of  its 
members,”  and  another  emphatically  exclaims,  “  That’s  a 
fact;”  and  upon  “its  universality,”  and  another  bawls  out, 
That’s  so.”  Indeed,  by  finding  the  Gipsies,  under  such 
circumstances,  completely  off  their  guard,  (for  they  do  not 
doubt  their  secret  being  confined  to  themselves,)  I  can  gen¬ 
erally  draw  forth,  in  one  way  or  other,  as  much  moral  cer¬ 
tainty,  barring  their  direct  admission,  as  to  their  being  Gip¬ 
sies,  as  a  dog,  by  putting  his  nose  into  a  hole,  can  tell 
whether  a  rat  is  there,  or  not. 

The  principle  of  the  transmutation  of  Gipsy  blood  into 
white,  in  appearance,  is  illustrated,  in  the  ninth  chapter  of  Mr. 
Borrow’s  “  Bible  in  Spain,”  by  its  changing  into  almost  pure 
black.  A  Gipsy  soldier,  in  the  Spanish  army,  killed  his 
sergeant,  for  “  calling  him  calo,  (Gipsy,)  and  curbing  him,”  and 
made  his  escape.  His  wife  remained  in  the  army,  as  a  sut¬ 
ler,  selling  wine.  Two  years  thereafter,  a  strange  man  came 
to  her  wine  shop.  “  He  was  dressed  like  a  Moor,  ( corahano ,) 
and  yet  he  did  not  look  like  one  ;  he  looked  more  like  a 
black,  and  yet  he  was  not  a  black,  either,  though  he  was 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


429 


almost  black.  And,  as  I  looked  upon  him,  I  thought  he 
looked  something  like  the  Errate,  (Gipsies,)  and  he  said  to 
me,  * Zincali ,  chachipe (the  Gipsy  salutation.)  And  then 
he  whispered  to  me,  in  queer  language,  which  I  could  scarcely 
understand,  ‘  Your  husband  is  waiting  ;  come  with  me,  my 
little  sister,  and  I  will  take  you  to  him.’  About  a  league 
from  the  town,  beneath  a  hill,  we  found  four  people,  men 
and  women,  all  very  black,  like  the  strange  man  ;  and  we 
joined  ourselves  with  them,  and  they  all  saluted  me,  and 
called  me  ‘  little  sister.’  And  away  we  marched,  for  many 
days,  amidst  deserts  and  small  villages.  The  men  wrould 
cheat  w7ith  mules  and  asses,  and  the  women  told  baji.  I 
often  asked  him  (her  husband)  about  the  black  men,  and  he 
told  me  that  he  believed  them  to  be  of  the  Errate.”  Her 
husband,  then  a  soldier  in  the  Moorish  army,  having  been 
killed,  this  Gipsy  woman  married  the  black  man,  with  whom 
she  followed  real  Gipsy  life.  She  said  to  him  :  “  Sure  I  am 
amongst  the  Errate  ;  .  .  .  .  and  I  often  said  that  they 

were  of  the  Errate  ;  and  then  they  would  laugh,  and  say 
that  it  might  be  so,  and  that  they  were  not  Moors,  ( coraliai ,) 
but  they  could  give  no  account  of  themselves.”  From  this 
it  would  seem  that, -while  preserving  their  identity,  wherever 
they  go,  there  are  Gipsies  who  may  not  be  known  to  the 
world,  or  to  the  tribe,  in  other  continents,  by  the  same 
name.* 

*  The  people  above-mentioned  are  doubtless  Gipsies.  According  to  Grell- 
mann,  the  race  is  even  to  be  found  in  the  centre  of  Africa.  Mollien,  in  his 
travels  to  the  sources  of  the  Senegal  and  Gambia,  in  1818,  says:  “Scat¬ 
tered  among  the  Joloffs,  we  find  a  people  not  unlike  our  Gipsies,  and  known 
by  the  name  of  Laaubes.  Leading  a  roving  life,  and  without  fixed  habita¬ 
tion,  their  only  employment  is  the  manufacture  of  wooden  vessels,  mortars, 
and  bedsteads.  They  choose  a  well-wooded  spot,  fell  some  trees,  form  huts 
with  the  branches,  and  work  up  the  trunks.  For  this  privilege,  they  must 
pay  a  sort  of  tax  to  the  prince  in  whose  states  they  thus  settle.  In  general, 
they  are  both  ugly  and  slovenly. 

“  The  women,  notwithstanding  their  almost  frightful  faces,  are  covered 
with  amber  and  coral  beads,  presents  heaped  on  them  by  the  Joloffs,  from 
a  notion  that  the  favours,  alone,  of  these  women  will  be  followed  by  those  of 
fortune.  Ugly  or  handsome,  all  the  young  Laaubd  females  are  in  request 
among  the  Negroes. 

“  The  Laaubes  have  nothing  of  their  own  but  their  money,  their  tools, 
and  their  asses ;  the  only  animals  on  which  they  travel.  In  the  woods, 
they  make  fires  with  the  dung  of  the  flocks.  Ranged  round  the  fires,  the 
men  and  women  pass  their  leisure  time  in  smoking.  The  Laaubes  have' not 
those  characteristic  features  and  high  stature  which  mark  the  Joloffs,  and 
t hey  seem  to  form  a  distinct  race.  They  are  exempted  from  all  military 


430 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


A  word  upon  the  universality  of  the  Gipsies.  English 
Gipsies,  on  arriving  in  America,  feci  quite  taken  aback,  on 
coining  across  a  tent  or  wigwam  of  Indians.  “  Didn’t  you 
feel,”  said  I  to  some  of  them,  “  very  like  a  dog  when  he 
comes  across  another  dog,  a  stranger  to  him?”  And,  with 
a  laugh,  they  said,  “  Exactly  so.”  After  looking  awhile  at 
the  Indians,  they  will  approach  them,  and  “  cast  their  sign, 
and  salute  them  in  Gipsy  and  if  no  response  is  made,  they 
will  pass  on.  They  then  come  to  learn  who  the  Indians  are. 
The  same  curiosity  is  excited  among  the  Gipsies  on  meeting 
with  the  American  farmer,  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi 
or  Missouri ;  who,  in  travelling  to  market,  in  the  summer, 
will,  to  save  expenses,  unyoke  his  horses,  at  mid-day  or  eve¬ 
ning,  at  the  edge  of  the  forest,  light  his  fire,  and  prepare  his 
meal.  What  with  the  “  kettle  and  tented  wagon,”  the  tall, 
lank,  bony,  and  swarthy  appearance  of  the  farmer,  the  Gipsy 
will  approach  him,  as  he  did  the  Indian  ;  and  pass  on,  when 
no  response  is  made  to  his  sign  and  salutation.  Under  such 
circumstances,  the  Gipsy  would  cast  his  sign,  and  give  his 
salutation,  whether  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  or  the 
Ganges.  Nay,  a  very  respectable  Scottish  Gipsy  boasted  to 
me,  that,  by  his  signs  alone,  he  could  push  his  way  to  the 
wall  of  China,  and  even  through  China  itself.  And  there 
are  doubtless  Gipsies  in  China.  Mr.  Borrow  says,  that  when 
he  visited  the  tribe  at  Moscow,  they  supposed  him  to  be  one 
of  their  brothers,  who,  they  said,  were  wandering  about  in 
Turkey,  China,  and  other  parts.  It  is  very  likely  that  Rus¬ 
sian  Gipsies  have  visited  China,  by  the  route  taken  by 
Russian  traders,  and  met  with  Gipsies  there*  But  it  tickles 
the  Gipsy  most,  when  it  is  insinuated,  that  if  Sir  John  Frank¬ 
lin  had  been  fortunate  in  his  expedition,  he  would  have 
found  a  Gipsy  tinkering  a  kettle  at  the  North  Pole. 

The  particulars  of  a  meeting  between  English  and  Ameri- 

service.  Each  family  has  its  chief,  but,  over  all,  there  is  a  superior  chief, 
who  commands  a  whole  tribe  or  nation.  He  collects  the  tribute,  and  com¬ 
municates  with  such  delegates  of  the  king  as  receive  the  imposts :  this 
serves  to  protect  them  from  all  vexation.  The  Laaubds  are  idolaters,  speak 
the  Poula  language,  and  pretend  to  tell  fortunes.” 

*  Bell,  in  an  account  of  his  journey  to  Pekin,  [1721.]  says  that  upwards 
of  sixty  Gipsies  had  arrived  at  Tobolsky,  on  their  way  to  China,  but  were 
stopped  by  the  Vice-Governor,  for  want  of  passports.  They  had  roamed, 
during  the  summer  season,  from  Poland,  in  small  parties,  subsisting  by 
selling  trinkets,  and  telling  fortunes. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


431 


can  Gipsies  are  interesting.  Some  English  Gipsies  were 
endeavouring  to  sell  some  horses,  in  Annapolis,  in  the  State 
of  Maryland,  to  what  had  the  appearance  of  being  respect¬ 
able  American  farmers  ;  who,  however,  spoke  to  each  other 
in  the  Gipsy  language,  dropping  a  word  now  and  then,  such 
as  “  this  is  a  good  one,”  and  so  on.  The  English  Gipsies 
felt  amazed,  and  at  last  said  :  “  What  is  that  you  are  say¬ 
ing?  Why,  you  are  Gipsies  !”  Upon  this,  the  Americans 
wheeled  about,  and  left  the  spot  as  fast  as  they  could.  Had 
the  English  Gipsies  taken  after  the  Gipsy  in  their  appear¬ 
ance,  they  would  not  have  caused  such  a  consternation  to 
their  American  brethren,  who  showed  much  of  “  the  blood” 
in  their  countenances  ;  but  as,  from  their  blood  being  much 
mixed,  they  did  not  look  like  Gipsies,  they  gave  the  others  a 
terrible  fright,  on  their  being  found  out.  The  English  Gip¬ 
sies  said  they  felt  disgusted  at  the  others  not  owning  them¬ 
selves  up.  But  I  told  them  they  ought  rather  to  have  felt 
proud  of  the  Americans  speaking  Gipsy,  as  it  was  the  preju¬ 
dice  of  the  world  that  led  them  to  hide  their  nationality. 
On  making  enquiry  in  the  neighbourhood,  they  found  that 
these  American  Gipsies  had  been  settled  there  since,  at 
least,  the  time  of  their  grandfather,  and  that  they  bore  an 
English  name. 

There  are  Scottish  Gipsies  in  the  United  States,  following 
respectable  callings,  who  speak  excellent  Gipsy,  according 
to  the  judgment  of  intelligent  English  Gipsies.  The  Eng¬ 
lish  Gipsies  say  the  same  of 'the  G  ipsy  families  in  Scotland, 
with  whom  they  are  acquainted  ;  but  that  some  of  their 
words  vary  from  those  spoken  in  England.  There  is,  how¬ 
ever,  a  rivalry  between  the  English  and  Scottish  Gipsies,  as 
to  whose  pronunciation  of  the  words  is  the  correct  one  : 
in  that  respect,  they  somewhat  resemble  the  English  and 
Scottish  Latinists.  One  intelligent  Gipsy  gave  it  as  his 
opinion,  that  the  word  great,  baurie,  in  Scotland,  was  softer 
than  boro,  in  England,  and  preferable,  indeed,  the  right  pro¬ 
nunciation  of  the  word.  The  German  Gipsies  are  said,  by 
their  English  brethren,  to  speak  Gipsy  backwards  ;  from 
which  I  would  conclude,  that  it  follows  the  construction  of 
the  German  language,  which  differs  so  materially,  in  that 
respect,  from  the  English.*  It  is  a  thing  well-nigh  im- 

*Mr.  Borrow  says,  with  reference  to  the  Spanish  Gipsy  language:  “  Its 
grammatical  peculiarities  have  disappeared,  the  entire  language  haring 


432 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


possible,  to  get  a  respectable  Scottish  Gipsy  to  own  up  to 
even  a  word  of  the  Gipsy  language.  On  meeting  with  a  re¬ 
spectable — Scotchman,  I  will  call  him — in  a  company,  lately, 
I  was  asked  by  him  :  “  Are  ye  a’  Tinklers?”  “  We’re  trav¬ 
ellers,”  I  replied.  “But  who  is  he?”  he  continued,  point¬ 
ing  to  my  acquaintance.  Going  up  to  him,  I  whispered 
“  His  dade  is  a  baurie  grye-femler,”  (his  father  is  a  great 
horse-dealer ;)  and  he  made  for  the  door,  as  if  a  bee  had 
got  into  his  ear.  But  he  came  back  ;  oh,  yes,  he  came 
back.  There  was  a  mysterious  whispering  of  “  pistols  and 
coffee,”  at  another  time. 

It  is  beyond  doubt  that  the  Gipsy  language  in  Great  Brit¬ 
ain  is  broken,  but  not  so  broken  as  to  consist  of  words  only  ; 
it  consists,  rather,  of  expressions,  or  pieces,  which  are  tacked 
together  by  native  words — generally  small  words — which 
are  lost  to  the  ordinary  ear,  when  used  in  conversation.  In 
that  respect,  the  use  of  Gipsy  may  be  compared  to  the  revo¬ 
lutions  of  a  wheel :  we  know  that  the  wheel  has  spokes,  but, 
in  its  velocity,  we  cannot  distinguish  the  colour  or  material 
of  each  individual  spoke  ;  it  is  only  when  it  stands  still  that 
that  can  be  done.  In  the  same  manner,  when  we  come  to 
examine  into  the  British  Gipsy  language,  we  perceive  its 
broken  nature.  But  it  still  serves  the  purpose  of  a  speech. 
Let  any  one  sit  among  English'  Gipsies,  in  America,  and 
hear  them  converse,  and  he  cannot  pick  up  an  idea,  and 
hardly  a  word  which  they  say.  “  I  have  always  thought 
Dutch  bad  enough,”  said  an  Irishman,  who  has  often  heard 

been  modified  and  subjected  to  the  rules  of  Spanish  grammar,  with  which 
it  now  coincides  in  syntax,  in  t  he  conjugation  of  verbs,  and  in  the  declension 
of  its  nouns.”  We  might  have  naturally  expected  that,  cf  the  Gipsy  lan¬ 
guage,  in  the  course  of  four  hundred  years,  from  the  people  speaking  it  be¬ 
ing  so  much  scattered  over  the  country,  and  coming  so  much  in  contact 
with  the  ordinary  natives.  But  something  different  might  be  looked  for, 
where  the  Gipsies  have  not  been  persecuted,  but  allowed  to  live  together 
in  a  body,  as  in  Hungary.  Of  the  Hungarian  Gipsy  language,  Mr.  Borrow 
says,  that  in  no  part  of  the  world  is  the  Gipsy  language  better  preserved 
than  in  Hungary ;  and  that  the  roving  bands  of  Gipsies  from  that  country, 
who  visit  France  and  Italy,  speak  the  pure  Gipsy,  with  all  its  grammatical 
peculiarities.  He  estimates  that  the  Spanish  Gipsy  language  may  consist 
of  four  or  five  thousand  words  ;  a  sufficient  number,  one  might  suppose,  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  everyday  life.  A  late  writer  in  the  Dublin  University 
Magazine  estimates  that  five  thousand  words  would  serve  the  same  purpose 
in  the  English  language.  Four  thousand  words  is  a  very  large  lurguage  for 
the  Gipsies  of  Spain  to  possess,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  one  of  the  coun¬ 
try. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


433 


English  Gipsies,  in  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  speak  among 
themselves  ;  “but Gipsy  is  perfect  gibble-gabble,  like  ducks 
and  geese,  for  anything  I  can  make  of  it.”  Some  Gipsies 
can,  of  course,  speak  Gipsy  much  better  than  others.  It  is 
most  unlikely  that  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  with  the  head,  the 
pride,  and  the  tenacity  of  native  Scotch,  would  be  the  first 
to  forget  the  Gipsy  language.  The  sentiments  of  the  people 
themselves  are  very  emphatic  on  that  head.  “  It  will  never 
be  forgotten,  sir  ;  it  is  in  our  hearts,  and,  as  long  as  a  single 
Tinkler  exists,  it  will  be  remembered,”  (page  297.)  “  So 

long  as  there  existed  two  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  it  would  never 
be  lost,”  (page  316.)  The  English  Gipsies  admit  that  the 
language  is  more  easily  preserved  in  a  settled  life,  but  more 
useful  to  travelling  and  out-door  Gipsies  ;  and  that  it  is 
carefully  kept  up  by  both  classes  of  Gipsies.  This  informa¬ 
tion  agrees  with  our  author’s,  in  regard  to  the  settled  Scot¬ 
tish  Gipsies.  There  is  one  very  strong  motive,  among  many, 
for  the  Gipsies  keeping  up  their  language,  and  that  is,  as  I 
have  already  said,  their  self-respect.  The  best  of  them  be¬ 
lieve  that  it  is  altogether  problematical  how  they  would  be 
received  in  society,  were  they  to  make  an  avowal  of  their 
being  Gipsies,  and  lay  bare  the  history  of  their  race  to  the 
world.  The  prejudice  that  exists  against  the  race,  and 
against  them,  they  imagine,  were  they  known  to  be  Gipsies, 
drives  them  back  on  that  language  which  belongs  exclusively 
to  themselves  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  dazzling  hold  which  it 
takes  of  their  imagination,  as  they  arrive  at  years  of  reflec¬ 
tion,  and  consider  that  the  people  speaking  it  have  been 
transplanted  from  some  other  clime.  The  more  intelligent 
the  Gipsy,  the  more  lie  thinks  of  his  speech,  and  the  more 
care  he  takes  of  it. 

People  often  reprobate  the  dislike,  I  may  say  the  hatred, 
which  the  more  original  Gipsy  entertains  for  society  ;  for¬ 
getting  that  society  itself  has  had  the  greatest  share  in  the 
origin  of  it.  When  the  race  entered  Europe,  they  are  not 
presumed  to  have  had  any  hatred  towards  their  fellow- 
creatures.*  That  hatred,  doubtless,  sprang  from  the  severe 

*  I  cannot  agree  with  Mr.  Borrow,  when  he  says,  that  the  Gipsies 
“  travelled  three  thousand  miles  into  Europe,  with  hatred  in  their  hearts 
towards  the  people  among  whom  they  settled."  In  none  of  the  earliest  laws 
passed  against  them,  is  anything  said  of  their  being  other  than  thieves, 
eheats,  Ac.,  Ac.  They  seem  to  have  been  too  politic  to  commit  murder; 

19 


434 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


reception,  and  universal  persecution,  which,  owing  to  the 
singularity  of  their  race  and  habits,  they  everywhere  met 
with.  The  race  then  became  born  into  that  state  of  things. 
What  would  subsequent  generations  know  of  the  origin  of 
the  feud  ?  All  that  they  knew  was,  that  the  law  made 
them  outlaws  and  outcasts  ;  that  they  were  subject,  as  Gip¬ 
sies,  to  be  hung,  before  they  were  born.  Such  a  Gipsy 
might  be  compared  to  Pascal’s  man  springing  up  out  of  an 
island  :  casting  his  eyes  around  him,  he  iinds  nothing  but  a 
legal  and  social  proscription  hanging  over  his  head,  in  what¬ 
ever  direction  he  may  turn.  Whatever  might  be  assumed 
to  have  been  the  original,  innate  disposition  of  a  Gipsy,  the 
circumstances  attending  him,  from  his  birth  to  his  death,  were 
certainly  not  calculated  to  improve  him,  but  to  make  him 
much  worse  than  he  might  otherwise  have  been.  The  worst 
that  can  be  said  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  in  times  past,  has 
been  stated  by  our  author.  With  all  their  faults,  we  find  a 
vein  of  genuine  nobility  of  character  running  through  all 
their  actions,  which  is  the  more  worthy  of  notice,  consider¬ 
ing  that  they  were  at  war  with  society,  and  society  at  war 
with  them.  Not  the  least  important  feature  is  that  of  grati¬ 
tude  for  kind  and  hospitable  treatment.  In  that  respect, 
a  true  Scottish  Gipsy  has  always  been  as  true  as  steel ;  and 
that  is  saying  a  great  deal  in  his  favour.  The  instance 
given  by  our  author,  (pages  361-3G3,)  is  very  touching,  and 
to  the  point.  I  do  not  know  how  it  may  be,  at  the  present 
day,  in  Scotland,  where  are  to  be  found  so  many  Irish 
Gipsies,  of  whom  the  Scottish  and  English  Gipsies  have  not 
much  good  to  say,  notwithstanding  the  assistance  they  ren¬ 
der  each  other  when  they  meet,  (page  324.)  If  the  English 
farmers  are  questioned,  I  doubt  not  that  a  somewhat  similar 
testimony  will  be  borne  to  the  English  Gipsies,  to  this  extent, 
at  least,  that,  when  civilly  and  hospitably  treated,  and  per- 

moreover,  it  appears  to  have  been  foreign  to  their  disposition  to  do  aught 
but  obtain  a  living  in  the  most  cunning  manner  they  could.  There  is  no 
necessary  connection  between  purloining  one’s  property  and  hating  one’s 
person.  As  long  as  the  Gipsies  were  not  hardly  dealt  with,  they  could, 
naturally,  have  no  actual  hatred  towards  their  fellow-creatures.  Mr.  Bor¬ 
row  attributes  none  of  the  spite  and  hatred  of  the  race  towards  the  com¬ 
munity  to  the  severity  of  the  persecutions  to  which  it  was  exposed,  or  to 
that  hard  feeling  with  which  society  has  regarded  it.  These,  and  the  ex¬ 
ample  of  the  Spaniards,  doubtless  led  the  Gitanos  to  shed  the  blood  of  the 
ordinary  natives. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


435 


sonally  acquainted,  they  will  respect  the  farmers’  property, 
and  even  keep  others  off  it.  Indeed,  both  Scottisli  and 
English  Gipsies  call  this  “  Gipsy  law.”  It  is  certainly  not 
the  Scottish  Gipsies,  or,  I  may  venture  to  say,  the  English 
Gipsies,  to  whom  Mr.  Borrow’s  words  may  be  applied,  when 
he  says  :  “  I  have  not  expatiated  on  their  gratitude  towards 
good  people,  who  treat  them  kindly,  and  take  an  interest  in 
their  welfare  ;  for  I  believe,  that,  of  all  beings  in  the  world, 
they  are  the  least  susceptible  of  such  a  feeling.”  Such  a 
character  may  apply  to  the  Spanish  Gipsies  for  anything  I 
know  to  the  contrary  ;  and  the  causes  to  which  it  may  be 
attributed  must  be  the  influences  which  the  Spanish  charac¬ 
ter,  and  general  deportment  towards  the  tribe,  have  exer¬ 
cised  over  them.  In  speaking  of  the  bloody  and  wolfish 
disposition  which  especially  characterizes  the  Gitanos,  Mr. 
Borrow  says  :  “  The  cause  to  which  this  must  be  attributed, 
must  be  their  residence  in  a  country,  unsound  in  every 
branch  of  its  civil  polity,  where  right  has  ever  been  in  less 
esteem,  and  wrong  in  less  disrepute,  than  in  any  other  part  of 
the  world.”  Grellmann  bears  as  poor  testimony  to  the 
character  of  the  Hungarian  Gipsies,  in  the  matter  of  grati¬ 
tude,  as  Mr.  Borrow  docs  to  the  Spanish  Gipsies,  to  whom  I 
apprehend  his  remarks  are  intended  to  apply.  But  both  of 
these  authors  give  an  opinion,  unaccompanied  by  facts. 
Their  opinion  may  be  correct,  however,  so  far  as  it  is  appli¬ 
cable  to  the  class  of  Gipsies,  or  the  individuals,  to  whom  they 
refer.  Gratitude  is  even  a  characteristic  of  the  lower  ani¬ 
mals.  “  For  every  kind  of  beasts,  and  of  birds,  and  of  ser¬ 
pents,  and  of  things  in  the  sea,  is  tamed  and  hath  been 
tamed  of  mankind,”  saith  St.  James  ;  the  means  of  attaining 
to  which  is  frequently  kindness.  I  doubt  not  that  the  same 
can  be  said  of  Gipsies  anywhere  ;  for  surely  we  can  expect 
to  find  as  much  gratitude  in  them  as  can  be  called  forth 
from  things  that  creep,  fly,  or  swim  in  the  sea.  It  is  un¬ 
reasonable,  however,  to  look  for  much  gratitude  from  such 
Gipsies  as  the  two  authors  in  question  have  evidently  alluded 
to  ;  for  this  reason  :  that  it  is  a  virtue  rarely  to  be  met  with 
from  those  “  to  whom  much  has  been  given  ;”  and,  conse¬ 
quently,  very  little  should  be  required  of  those  to  whom 
nothing  has  been  given,  in  the  estimation  of  their  fellow- 
creatures.  In  doing  a  good  turn  to  a  Gipsy,  it  is  not  tho 
act  itself  that  calls  forth,  or  perhaps  merits,  a  return  in 


436 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


gratitude  ;  but  it  is  the  way  in  which  it  is  done  :  for,  while 
he  is  doubtless  being  benefited,  he  is,  frequently  if  not  gen¬ 
erally,  as  little  sympathized  with,  personally,  as  if  he  were 
some  loathsome  creature  to  which  something  had  been 
thrown. 

As  regards  the  improvement  of  the  Gipsies,  I  would  make 
the  following  suggestions  :  The  facts  and  principles  of  the 
present  work  should  be  thoroughly  canvassed  and  imprinted 
upon  the  public  mind,  and  an  effort  made  to  bring,  if  pos¬ 
sible,  our  high-class  Gipsies  to  own  themselves  up  to  be 
Gipsies.  The  fact  of  these  Gipsies  being  received  into  so¬ 
ciety,  and  respected,  as  Gipsies,  (as  it  is  with  them,  at  present, 
as  men,)  could  not  fail  to  have  a  wonderful  effect  upon  many 
of  the  humble,  ignorant,  or  wild  ones.  They  would  perceive, 
at  once,  that  the  objections  which  the  community  had  to 
them,  proceeded,  not  from  their  being  Gipsies,  but  from 
their  habits,  only.  What  is  the  feeling  which  Gipsies,  who 
are  known  to  be  Gipsies,  have  for  the  public  at  large? 
The  white  race,  as  a  race,  is  simply  odious  to  them,  for  they 
know  well  the  dreadful  prejudice  which  it  bears  towards 
them.  But  let  some  of  their  own  race,  however  mixed  the 
blood  might  be,  be  respected  as  Gipsies,  and  it  would,  in  a 
great  measure,  break  down,  at  least  in  feeling,  the  wall  of 
caste  that  separates  them  from  the  community  at  large.  This 
is  the  first,  the  most  important,  step  to  be  taken  to  improve 
the  Gipsies,  whatever  may  be  the  class  to  which  they  belong. 
Let  the  prejudice  be  removed,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say 
what  might  not  follow.  Before  attempting  to  reform  the 
Gipsies,  we  ought  to  reform,  or,  at  least,  inform,  mankind  in 
regard  to  them  ;  and  endeavour  to  reconcile  the  world  to 
them,  before  we  attempt  to  reconcile  them  to  the  world  ;  and 
treat  them  as  men,  before  wre  try  to  make  them  Christians. 
The  poor  Gipsies  know  well  that  there  are  many  of  their  race 
occupying  respectable  positions  in  life  ;  perhaps  they  do  not 
know  many,  or  even  any,  of  them,  personally,  but  they  believe 
in  it  thoroughly.  Still,  they  will  deny  it,  at  least  hide  it  from 
strangers,  for  this  reason,  among  others,  that  it  is  a  state  to 
which  their  children,  or  even  they  themselves,  look  forward, 
as  ultimately  awaiting  them,  in  which  they  will  manage  to 
escape  from  the  odium  of  their  fellow-creatures,  which  clings 
to  them  in  their  present  condition.  The  fact  of  the  poor 
travelling  Gipsies  knowing  of  such  respectable  settled  Gip- 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


437 


sies,  gives  them  a  certain  degree  of  respect  in  their  own 
eyes,  which  leads  them  to  repel  any  advance  from  the  other 
race,  let  it  come  in  almost  whatever  shape  it  may.  The 
white  race,  as  I  have  already  said,  is  perfectly  odious  to 
them.  This  is  exactly  the  position  of  the  question.  The 
more  original  kind  of  Gipsies  feel  that  the  prejudice  which 
exists  against  the  race  to  which  they  belong  is  such,  that  an 
intercourse  cannot  be  maintained  between  them  and  the 
other  inhabitants  ;  or,  if  it  does  exist,  it  is  of  so  clandestine  a 
nature,  that  their  appearance,  and,  it  may  be,  their  general 
habits,  do  not  allow  or  lead  them  to  indulge  in  it.  I  will 
make  a  few  more  remarks  on  this  subject  further  on  in  this 
treatise. 

What  are  the  respectable,  well-disposed  Scottish  Gipsies 
but  Scotch  people,  after  all?  They  are  to  be  met  with  in 
almost  every,  if  not  every,  sphere  in  which  the  ordinary  Scot 
is  to  be  found.  The  only  difference  between  the  two  is, 
that,  however  mixed  the  blood  of  these  Gipsies  may  be, 
their  associations  of  descent  and  tribe  go  back  to  those 
black,  mysterious  heroes  who  entered  Scotland,  upwards  of 
three  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  ;  and  that,  with  this  de¬ 
scent,  they  have  the  words  and  signs  of  Gipsies.  The  pos¬ 
session  of  all  these,  with  the  knowledge  of  the  feelings  * 
which  the  ordinary  natives  have  for  the  very  name  of  Gipsy, 
makes  the  only  distinction  between  them  and  other  Scotch¬ 
men.  I  do  not  say  that  the  world  would  have  any  prejudice 
against  these  Gipsies,  as  Gipsies,  still,  they  are  morbidly  sen¬ 
sitive  that  it  would  have  such  a  feeling.  The  light  of  reason, 
of  civilization,  of  religion,  and  the  genius  of  Britons,  forbid 
such  an  idea.  What  object  more  worthy  of  civilization,  and 
of  the  age  in  which  we  live,  than  that  such  Gipsies  would  come 
forward,  and,  by  their  positions  in  society,  their  talents  and 
characters,  dispel  the  mystery  and  gloom  that  hang  over  the 
history  of  the  Gipsy  race  ! 

But  will  these  Gipsies  do  that?  I  have  my  misgivings. 
They  may  not  do  it  now,  but  I  am  sanguine  enough  to  think 
that  it  is  an  event  that  may  take  place  at  some  future  time. 
The  subject  must,  in  the  meantime,  be  thoroughly  investi¬ 
gated,  and  the  mind  of  the  public  fully  prepared  for  such  a 
movement.  The  Gipsies  themselves,  to  commence  with, 
should  furnish  the  public  with  information,  anonymously,  so 
far  as  they  are  personally  concerned,  or  confidentially, 


438 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


through  a  person  of  standing,  who  can  guarantee  the  trust¬ 
worthiness  of  the  Gipsy  himself.  I  do  not  expect  that  they 
would  give  us  any  of  the  language  ;  but  they  can  furnish  us 
with  some  idea  of  the  position  which  the  Gipsies  occupy  in 
the  world,  and  throw  a  great  deal  of  light  upon  the  history 
of  the  race  in  Scotland,  in,  at  least,  comparatively  recent 
times.  In  anticipation  of  such  an  occurrence,  I  would  make 
this  suggestion  to  them  :  that  they  must  be  very  careful 
what  they  say,  on  account  of  the  “  court  holding  them  in¬ 
terested  witnesses  and,  whatever  they  may  do,  to  deny 
nothing  connected  with  the  Gipsies.  They  certainly  have 
kept  their  secret  well ;  indeed,  they  have  considered  the 
subject,  so  far  as  the  public  is  concerned,  as  dead  and  buried 
long  ago.  It  is  of  no  use,  however,  Gipsies  ;  “  murder  will 
out the  game  is  up  ;  it  is  played  out.  I  may  say  to  you 
what  the  hunter  said  to  the  ’coon,  or  rather  what  the  ’coon 
said  to  the  hunter  :  “  You  may  just  as  well  come  down  the 
tree.”  Yes !  come  down  the  tree  ;  you  have  been  too  long 
up  ;  come  down,  and  let  us  know  all  about  you.* 

Scottish  Gipsies  !  I  now  appeal  to  you  as  men.  Am  I  not 
right,  in  asserting,  that  there  is  nothing  you  hold  more  dear 
than  your  Egyptian  descent,  signs,  and  language?  And 
nothing  you  more  dread  than  such  becoming  known  to  your 
fellow-men  around  you  ?  Do  you  not  read,  with  the  greatest 
interest,  any  and  everything  printed,  which  comes  in  your 
way,  about  the  Gipsies,  and  say,  that  you  thank  God  all  that 
is  a  thousand  miles  away  from  you?  Whence  this  incon- 

*  I  accidentally  got  into  conversation  with  an  Irishman,  in  the  city  of 
New  York,  about  secret  societies,  when  he  mentioned  that  he  was  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  a  great  mail}'  such,  indeed,  “  ail  of  them,”  as  he  expressed  it.  I  said 
there  was  one  society  of  which  he  was  not  a  member,  when  he  began  to 
enumerate  them,  and  at  last  came  to  the  Zincali.  “  What,”  said  I,  “  are  you  a 
member  of  this  society  ?”  “  Yes,”  said  he;  “  the  Zincali,  or  Gipsy.”  He  then  told 
me  that  there  are  many  members  of  this  society  in  the  city  of  New  York  ; 
not  all  members  of  it,  under  that  name,  but  of  its  outposts,  if  I  may  so  ex¬ 
press  it.  The  principal  or  arcli-Gipsy  for  the  city,  he  said,  was  a  mer¬ 
chant,  in -  street,  who  had  in  his  possession  a  printed  vocabulary,  or 

dictionary,  of  the  language,  which  was  open  only  to  the  most  thoroughly 
initiated.  In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  it  fell  out  that  the  native 
American  Gipsy  referred  to  at  page  420  was  one  of  the  thoroughly  initiated  ; 
which  circumstance  explained  a  question  he  had  put  to  me,  and  which  I 
evaded,  by  saying  that  1  was  not  in  the  habit  of  telling  tales  out  of  school. 

In  Spain,  as  we  have  seen,  a  Gipsy  taught  her  language  to  her  son  from 
a  MS.  I  doubt  not  there  are  MS.  if  not  printed,  vocabularies  of  the  Gipsy 
language  among  the  tribe  in  Scotland,  as  well  as  in  other  countries. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


439 


sistency  ?  Ah  !  I  understand  it  tvell.  Shall  the  prejudice  of 
mankind  towards  the  name  of  Gipsy  drive  you  from  the 
position  which  you  occupy  ?  Can  it  drive  you  from  it?  No, 
it  cannot.  The  Gipsies,  you  know,  are  a  people  ;  a  “  mixed 
multitude,”  no  doubt,  but  still  a  people.  You  know  you  are 
Gipsies,  for  your  parents  before  you  were  Gipsies,  and,  con¬ 
sequently,  that  you  cannot  be  anything  but  Gipsies.  What 
effect,  then,  has  the  prejudice  against  the  race  upon  you  ? 
Does  it  not  sometimes  appear  to  you  as  if,  figuratively  speak¬ 
ing,  it  would  put  a  dagger  into  your  hands  against  the  rest 
of  your  species,  should  they  discover  that  you  belonged  to 
the  tribe  ?  Or  that  it  would  lead  you  to  immediately  “  take 
to  your  beds,”  or  depart,  bed  and  baggage,  to  parts  unknown  ? 
But  then,  Gipsies,  what  can  you  do?  The  thought  of  it 
makes  you  feel  as  if  you  were  sheep.  Some  of  you  may  be' 
bold  enough  to  face  a  lion  in  the  flesh  ;  but  who  so  bold  as 
to  own  to  the  world  that  he  is  a  Gipsy  ?  There  is  just  one  of 
the  higher  class  that  I  know  of,  and  he  was  a  noble  speci¬ 
men  of  a  man,  a  credit  to  human  nature  itself.  Although 
you  might  shrink  from  such  a  step,  would  you  not  like,  and 
cannot  you  induce,  some  one  to  take  it?  Take  my  word  for 
it,  respectable  Scottish  Gipsies,  the  thing  that  frightens  you 
is,  after  all,  a  bug-bear — a  scare-crow.  But,  failing  some  of 
you  “  coming  out,”  would  you  not  rather  that  the  world 
should  now  know  that  much  of  the  history  of  the  Gipsy  race, 
as  to  show  that  it  was  no  necessary  disparagement  in  any 
of  you  to  be  a  Gipsy  ?  Would  you  not  rather  that  a  Gipsy 
might  pass,  anywhere,  for  a  gentleman,  as  he  does  now,  every¬ 
where,  for  a  vagabond ;  and  that  you  and  your  children 
might,  if  they  liked,  show  their  true  colours,  than,  as  at  pres¬ 
ent,  go  everywhere  incog,  and  carry  within  them  that 
secret  which  they  are  as  afraid  of  being  divulged  to  the 
world,  as  if  you  and  all  your  kin  were  conspirators  and  mur¬ 
derers  ?  The  secret  being  out,  the  incognito  of  your  race 
goes  for  nothing.  Come  then,  Scottish  Gipsy,  make  a  clean 
breast  of  it,  like  a  man.  Which  of  you  will  exclaim, 

“  Thus  from  the  grave  I’ll  rise,  and  save  my  love ; 

Draw  all  your  swords,  and  quick  as  lightning  move  ! 

When  I  rush  on,  sure  none  will  dare  to  stay  ; 

’Tis  love  commands,  and  glory  leads  the  way  !” 

Will  none  of  you  move  ?  Ah !  Gipsies,  you  are  “  great 
hens,”  and  no  wonder. 


440 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


American  Gipsies,  descendants  of  the  real  old  British 
stock !  I  make  the  same  appeal  to  you.  Let  the  world 
know  how  you  are  getting  on,  in  this  land  of  “  liberty  and 
equality  and  whether  any  of  your  race  are  senators,  con¬ 
gressmen,  and  what  not.  1  have  heard  of  a  Gipsy,  a  sheriff 
in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania ;  and  1  know  of  a  Scottish 
Gipsy,  who  was  lately  returned  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
of  the  State  of  New  York. 

The  reader  may  ask  :  Is  it  possible  that  there  is  a  race  of 
men,  residing  in  the  British  Isles,  to  be  counted  by  its  hun¬ 
dreds  of  thousands,  occupying  such  a  position  as  that  de¬ 
scribed  ?  And  I  reply,  Alas !  it  is  too  true.  Exeter  Hall 
may  hobnob  with  Negroes,  Hottentots,  and  Bosjesmen — al¬ 
ways  with  something  or  other  from  a  distance  ;  but  what 
has  it  ever  done  for  the  Gipsies  ?  Nothing !  It  will  rail 
at  the  American  prejudice  towards  the  Negro,  and  entirely 
pass  over  a  much  superior  race  at  its  own  door  !  The 
prejudice  against  the  Negro  proceeds  from  two  causes — his 
appearance  and  the  servitude  in  which  he  is,  or  has  been, 
held.  But  there  can  be  no  prejudice  against  the  Gipsy,  on 
such  grounds.  It  will  not  do  to  say  that  the  prejudice  is 
against  the  tented  Gipsies,  only  ;  it  is  against  the  race,  root 
and  branch,  as  far  as  it  is  known.  What  is  it  but  that 
which  compels  the  Gipsy,  on  entering  upon  a  settled  life,  to 
hide  himself  from  the  unearthly  prejudice  of  his  fellow- 
creatures  ?  The  Englishman,  the  Scotchman,  and  the  Irish¬ 
man  may  rail  at  the  American  for  his  peculiar  prejudices  ; 
but  the  latter,  if  he  can  but  capitalize  the  idea,  has,  in  all 
conscience,  much  to  throw  back  upon  society  in  the  mother 
country.  Instead  of  a  class  of  the  British  public  spending 
so  much  of  their  time  in  an  agitation  against  an  institution 
thousands  of  miles  away  from  home,  and  over  which  they 
have,  and  can  expect  to  have,  no  control,  they  might  direct 
their  attention  to  an  evil  laying  at  their  own  doors — that 
social  prejudice  which  is  so  much  calculated  to  have  a  blast¬ 
ing  influence  upon  the  condition  of  so  many  of  their  fellow- 
subjects.  It  is  beyond  doubt  that  there  cannot  be  less  than 
a  quarter  of  a  million  of  Gipsies  in  the  British  Isles,  who 
arc  living  under  a  grinding  despotism  of  caste  ;  a  despotism 
so  absolute  and  odious,  that  the  people  upon  whom  it  bears 
cannot,  as  in  Scotland,  were  it  almost  to  save  their  lives, 
even  say  who  they  are  !  Let  the  time  and  talents  spent  on 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


441 


the  agitation  in  question  be  transferred,  for  a  time,  into 
some  such  channel  as  would  be  implied  in  a  “  British  Anti- 
Gipsy-prejudice  Association,”  and  a  great  moral  evil  may 
disappear  from  the  face  of  British  society.  In  such  a  move¬ 
ment,  there  would  be  none  of  that  direct  or  indirect  interest 
to  be  ■encountered,  which  lies  on  the  very  threshold  of  sla¬ 
very,  in  whatever  part  of  the  world  it  exists  ;  nor  would  there 
be  any  occasion  to  appeal  to  people’s  pockets.*  After  the 
work  mentioned  has  been  accomplished,  the  British  public 
might  turn  their  attention  to  wrongs  perpetrated  in  other 
climes.  Americans,  however,  must  not  attempt  to  seek,  in 
the  British  Gipsy-prejudice,  an  excuse  for  their  excessive 
antipathy  towards  Negroes.  I  freely  admit  that  the  dislike 
of  white  men,  generally,  for  the  Negro,  lies  in  something  that 
is  irremovable — something  that  is  irrespective  of  character, 
or  present  or  previous  social  condition.  But  it  is  not  so  with 
the  Gipsy,  for  his  race  is,  physically,  among  the  finest  that 
are  to  be  found  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Americans  ought 
also  to  consider  that  there  are  plenty  of  Gipsies  among 
themselves,  towards  whom,  however,  there  are  none  of  those 
prejudices  that  spring  from  local  tradition  or  association, 
but  only  such  as  proceed  from  literature,  and  that  towards 
the  tented  Gipsy. 

AVhat  is  to  be  the  future  of  the  Gipsy  race?  A  reply  to 
this  question  will  be  found  in  the  history  of  it  during  the 
past,  as  described  ;  for  it  resolves  itself  into  two  very  simple 
matters  of  fact.  In  the  first  place,  we  have  a  foreign  race, 
deemed,  by  itself,  to  be,  as  indeed  it  is,  universal,  introduced 
into  Scotland,  for  example,  taken  root  there,  spread,  and 
flourished  ;  a  race  that  rests  upon  a  basis  the  strongest 
imaginable.  On  the  other  hand,  there  is  the  prejudice  of 
caste  towards  the  name,  which  those  bearing  it  escape,  only, 
by  assuming  an  incognito  among  their  fellow-creatures. 
These  two  principles,  acting  upon  beings  possessing  the  feel¬ 
ings  of  men,  will,  of  themselves,  produce  that  state  of  things 
which  will  constitute  the  history  of  the  Gipsies  during  all 
time  coming,  whatever  may  be  the  changes  that  may  come 


*  Among  the  various  means  by  which  the  name  of  Gipsy  can  be  raised 
up,  it  may  be  mentioned,  that  beginning  the  word  with  a  capital  is  one  of 
no  little  importance.  The  almost  invariable  custom  with  writers,  in  that 
respect,  has  been  as  if  they  were  describing  rats  and  mice,  instead  of  a  race 
of  men. 


19* 


442 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


over  their  character  and  condition.  They  may,  in  course 
of  time,  lose  their  language,  as  some  of  them,  to  a  great  ex¬ 
tent,  have  done  already ;  but  they  will  always  retain  a  con¬ 
sciousness  of  being  Gipsies.  The  language  may  be  lost,  but 
their  signs  will  remain,  as  well  as  so  much  of  their  speech 
as  will  serve  the  purpose  of  pass-words.  “  There  is  some¬ 
thing  there,”  said  an  English  Gipsy  of  intelligence,  smiting 
his  breast,  “  There  is  something  there  which  a  Gipsy  cannot 
explain.”  And,  said  a  Scottish  Gipsy  :  “  It  will  never  be 
forgotten  ;  as  long  as  the  world  lasts,  the  Gipsies  will  be 
Gipsies.”  What  idea  can  be  more  preposterous  than  that 
of  saying,  that  a  change  of  residence  or  occupation,  or  a 
little  more  or  less  of  education  or  wealth,  or  a  change  of 
character  or  creed,  can  eradicate  such  feeling  from  the  heart 
of  a  Gipsy  ;  or  that  these  circumstances  can,  by  any  human 
possibility,  change  his  descent,  his  tribe,  or  the  blood  that  is 
in  his  body  ?  How  can  we  imagine  this  race,  arriving  in 
Europe  so  lately  as  the  fifteenth  century,  and  in  Scotland  the 
century  following,  with  an  origin  so  distinct  from  the  rest 
of  the  world,  and  so  treated  by  the  world,  can  possibly  have 
lost  a  consciousness  of  nationality  in  its  descent,  in  so  short 
a  time  after  arrival ;  or,  that  that  can  happen  in  the  future, 
when  there  are  so  many  circumstances  surrounding  it  to 
keep  alive  a  sense  of  its  origin,  and  so  much  within  it  to 
preserve  its  identity  in  the  history  of  the  human  family? 
Let  the  future  history  of  the  world  be  what  it  may,  Gipsy- 
dom  is  immortal.* 

In  considering  the  question  of  the  Gipsies  being  openly 
admitted,  as  a  race,  into  the  society  of  mankind,  I  ask,  what 
possible  reason  could  a  British  subject  advance  against  such 
taking  place  with,  at  least,  the  better  kind  of  Scottish  Gip¬ 
sies  ?  Society,  generally,  would  not  be  over-ready  to  lessen 
the  distance  between  itself  and  the  tented  Gipsies,  or  those 
who  live  by  means  really  objectionable  ;  but  it  should  have 
that  much  sense  of  justice,  as  to  confine  its  peculiar  feelings 

*  Tliis  sensation,  in  the  minds  of  the  Gipsies,  of  the  perpetuity  of  their 
race,  creates,  in  a  great  measure,  its  immortality.  Paradoxical  as  it  may 
appear,  the  way  to  preserve  the  existence  of  a  people  is  to  scatter  it,  pro¬ 
vided,  however,  that  it  is  a  race  thoroughly  distinct  from  others,  to  com¬ 
mence  with.  When,  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  it  has  fairly  settled 
down  into  the  idea  that  it  is  a  people,  those  living  in  one  country  become 
conscious  of  its  existence  in  others  ;  and  hence  arises  the  principal  cause  of 
the  perpetuity  of  its  existence  as  a  scattered  people. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIFSIES. 


443 


to  the  ways  of  life  of  these  individuals,  and  not  keep  them 
up  against  their  children,  when  they  follow  different  habits. 
If,  for  example,  I  should  have  made  the  acquaintance  of 
some  Scottish  Gipsies,  associated  with  them,  and  acquired  a 
respect  for  them,  (as  has  happened  with  me,)  how  could  I 
take  exceptions  to  them,  on  account  of  it  afterwards  leaking 
out  that  they  were  Gipsies  ?  A  sense  of  ordinary  justice 
would  forbid  me  doing  so.  I  can  see  nothing  objectionable 
in  their  conduct,  as  distinguished  from  that  of  other  people  ; 
and  as  for  their  appearance,  any  person,  on  being  asked  to 
point  out  the  Gipsy,  would,  so  far  as  colour  of  hair  and  eyes 
goes,  pitch  upon  many  a  common  native,  in  preference  to 
them.  A  sense  of  ordinary  justice,  as  I  have  said,  would 
disarm  me  of  any  prejudice  against  them  ;  nay,  it  would  urge 
inc  to  think  the  more  of  them,  on  account  of  their  being 
Gipsies.  To  the  ordinary  eye,  they  are  nothing  but  Scotch 
people,  and  pass,  everywhere,  for  such.  There  is  a  Scottish 
Gipsy  in  the  United  States,  with  whom  I  am  acquainted 
— a  liberal-minded  man,  and  good  company — who  carries 
on  a  wholesale  trade,  in  a  respectable  article  of  merchandise, 
and  he  said  to  me  :  “I  will  not  deny  it,  nor  am  I  ashamed 
to  say  it —I  come  from  Yetholm .”  And  I  replied  :  “  Why 
should  you  be  ashamed  of  it  ?” 

It  is  this  hereditary  prejudice  of  centuries  towards  the 
name,  that  constitutes  the  main  difficulty  in  the  way  of  recog¬ 
nition  of  these  Gipsies  by  the  world  generally.  IIow  long 
it  may  be  since  they  or  their  ancestors  left  the  tent,  is  a 
thing  of  no  importance  ;  personal  character,  education,  and 
position  in  life,  are  the  only  things  that  should  be  considered. 
The  Gipsies  to  whom  I  allude  do  not  require  to  be  reformed, 
unless  in  that  sense  in  which  all  men  stand  in  need  of  refor¬ 
mation  :  what  is  wanted  is,  that  the  world  should  raise  up 
the  name  of  Gipsy.  And  why  should  not  that  be  done  by 
the  people  of  Great  Britain,  and  Scotland  especially,  in 
whose  mouths  arc  continually  these  words  :  “  God  hath  made 
of  one  blood  all  nations  of  men,  for  to  dwell  on  all  the  face 
of  the  earth?”  Will  the  British  public  spend  its  hundreds 
of  thousands,  annually,  on  every  other  creature  under  heav¬ 
en,  and  refuse  to  countenance  the  Gipsy  race?  Will  it 
squander  its  tens  of  thousands  to  convert,  perhaps,  on  an 
average,  one  Jew,  and  refuse  a  kind  word,  nay,  grudge  a 
smile,  towards  that  body,  a  member  of  which  may  be  an 


444 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


official  of  that  Missionary  Society,  or,  it  may  he,  the  very 
chairman  of  it  ?  I  can  conceive  no  liberal-minded  Scotch¬ 
man,  possessing  a  feeling  of  true  self-respect,  entertaining  a 
prejudice  against  such  Gipsies.  The  only  people  in  Scotland 
in  whose  mind  such  a  prejudice  might  be  supposed  to  exist, 
are  those  miserable  old  women  around  the  neighbourhood  of 
Stirling,  who,  under  the  influence  of  the  old  Highland  feud, 
will  look  with  the  greatest  contempt  upon  a  person,  if  he  but 
come  from  the  north  of  the  Ochils.  I  would  class,  with  such 
old  women,  all  of  our  Scotch  people  who  would  object  to  the 
Gipsies  to  whom  I  have  alluded.  A  Scotchman  should  even 
have  that  much  love  of  country,  as  to  take  hold  of  his  own 
Gipsies,  and  “  back  them  up”  against  those  of  other  coun¬ 
tries  :  and  particularly  should  he  do  that,  when  the  “  Gip¬ 
sies”  might  be  his  cousins,  nay,  his  own  children,  for  any¬ 
thing  that  he  might  know  to  the  contrary.  Scotch  people 
should  consider  that  the  “  Tinklers,”  whom  they  see  going 
about,  at  the  present  day,  are,  if  not  the  very  lowest  kind  of 
Gipsies,  at  least  those  who  follow  the  original  ways  of  their 
race  ;  and  are  greatly  inferior,  not  only  relatively,  but  actu¬ 
ally,  to  many  of  those  who  have  gone  before  them.  They 
should  also  consider  that  Gipsies  are  a  race,  however  mixed 
the  blood  may  be  ;  subject,  as  a  race,  to  be  governed,  in  their 
descent,  by  those  laws  which  regulate  the  descent  of  all 
races  ;  and  that  a  Gipsy  is  as  much  a  Gipsy  in  a  house  as  in 
a  tent,  in  a  “  but  and  a  ben”  as  in  a  palace. 

Wherever  a  Gipsy  goes,  he  carries  his  inherent  peculiari¬ 
ties  with  him  ;  and  the  objection  to  him  he  considers  to  be 
to  something  inseparable  from  himself — that  which  he  can¬ 
not  escape  ;  but  the  confidence  which  he  has  in  his  incognito 
neutralizes,  as  I  have  already  said,  the  feelings  which  such  a 
circumstance  would  naturally  produce.  But,  to  disarm  him 
altogether  of  this  feeling,  all  that  is  necessary  is  to  state  his 
case,  and  have  it  admitted  by  the  “  honourable  of  the  earth;” 
so  that  his  mind  may  be  set  at  perfect  rest  on  that  point. 
He  would,  doubtless,  still  hide  the  fact  of  his  being  a  Gipsy, 
but  he  would  enjoy,  in  his  retreat,  that  inward  self-respect, 
among  his  fellow-creatures,  which  such  an  admission  would 
give  him  ;  and  which  is  so  much  calculated  to  raise  the  peo¬ 
ple,  generally,  in  every  moral  attribute.  It  is,  indeed,  a  mel¬ 
ancholy  thing,  to  contemplate  this  cloud  which  hangs  over 
such  a  man,  as  he  mixes  with  other  people,  in  his  daily  cal) 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


445 


mg  ;  but  to  dispel  it  altogether,  the  Gipsy  himself  must,  in 
the  manner  described,  give  us  some  information  about  his 
race.  Apart  from  the  sense  of  justice  which  is  implied  in 
admitting  these  Gipsies,  as  Gipsies,  to  a  social  equality  with 
others,  a  motive  of  policy  should  lead  us  to  take  such  a  step  ; 
for  it  can  augur  no  good  to  society  to  have  the  Gipsy  race 
residing  in  its  midst,  under  the  cloud  that  hangs  over  it. 
Let  us,  by  a  liberal  and  enlightened  policy,  at  least  blunt 
the  edge  of  that  antipathy  which  many  of  the  Gipsy  race 
have,  and  most  naturally  have,  to  society  at  large. 

In  receiving  a  Gipsy,  as  a  Gipsy,  into  society,  there  should 
be  no  kind  of  officious  sympathy  shown  him,  for  he  is  too  proud 
to  submit  to  be  made  the  object  of  it.  Should  he  say  that  he  is 
a  Gipsy,  the  remark  ought  to  be  received  as  a  mere  matter 
of  course,  and  little  notice  taken  of  it ;  just  as  if  it  made  no 
difference  to  the  other  party  whether  he  was  a  Gipsy  or  not. 
A  little  surprise  would  be  allowable  ;  but  anything  like  con¬ 
dolence  would  be  out  of  the  question.  And  let  the  Gipsy 
himself,  rather,  talk  upon  the  subject,  than  a  desire  be  shown 
to  ask  him  questions,  unless  his  remarks  should  allow  them, 
in  a  natural  way,  to  be  put  to  him.  As  to  the  course  to  be 
pursued  by  the  Gipsy,  should  he  feel  disposed  to  own  himself 
up,  I  would  advise  him  to  do  it  in  an  off-handed,  hearty 
manner  ;  to  show  not  the  least  appearance  that  he  had  any 
misgivings  about  any  one  taking  exceptions  to  him  on  that 
account.  Should  he  act  otherwise,  that  is,  hesitate,  and 
take  to  himself  shamefacedness,  in  making  the  admission,  it 
would,  perhaps,  have  been  better  for  him  not  to  have  com¬ 
mitted  himself  at  all  :  for,  in  such  a  matter,  it  may  be  said, 
that  “  he  that  doubteth  is  damned.”  The  simple  fact  of  a 
man,  in  Scotland,  saying,  after  the  appearance  of  this  work 
there,  that  he  is  a  Gipsy,  if  he  is  conscious  of  having  the 
esteem  of  his  neighbours,  would  probably  add  to  his  popu¬ 
larity  among  them  ;  especially  if  they  were  men  of  good 
sense,  and  had  before  their  eyes  the  expression  of  good-will 
of  the  organs  of  society  towards  the  Gipsy  race.  Such  an 
admission,  on  the  part  of  a  Gipsy,  would  presumptively 
prove,  that  ho  was  a  really  candid  and  upright  person  ;  for 
few  Scottish  Gipsies,  beyond  those  about  Yctholm,  would 
make  such  a  confession.  Having  mentioned  the  subject,  the 
Gipsy  should  allude  to  it,  on  every  appropriate  occasion, 
and  boast  of  being  in  possession  of  those  words  and  sigus 


446 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


which  the  other  is  entirely  ignorant  of.  He  could  well  say : 
“  What  was  Borrow  to  him,  or  lie  to  Borrow  ;  that,  for  his 
part,  lie  could  traverse  the  world  over,  and,  in  the  centre  of 
any  continent,  be  received  and  feasted,  by  Gipsies,  as  a  king.” 
If  but  one  respectable  Scottish  Gipsy  could  be  prevailed 
upon  to  act  in  this  way,  what  an  effect  might  it  not  have 
upon  raising  up  the  name  of  this  singular  race  !  But  there 
is  a  very  serious  difficulty  to  be  encountered  in  the  outset  of 
such  a  proceeding,  and  it  is  this,  that  if  a  Gipsy  owns  him¬ 
self  up,  he  necessarily  “  lets  out,”  perhaps,  all  his  kith  and 
kin  ;  a  regard  for  whom  would,  in  all  probability,  keep  him 
back.  But  there  would  be  no  such  difficulty  to  be  met  with 
in  the  way  of  the  Gipsy  giving  us  information  by  writing. 
Let  us,  then,  Gipsy,  have  some  writing  upon  the  Gipsies.  It 
will  serve  no  good  purpose  to  keep  such  information  back  ; 
the  keeping  of  it  back  will  not  cast  a  doubt  upon  the  facts 
and  principles  of  the  present  work  ;  for  rest  assured,  Gipsy, 
that,  upon  its  own  merits,  your  secret  is  exploded.  I  would 
say  this  to  you,  young  Scottish  Gipsy  ;  pay  no  regard  to  what 
that  old  Gipsy  says,  when  he  tells  you,  that  “  he  is  too  old 
a  bird  to  be  caught  with  chaff  in  that  way.” 

The  history  of  the  Gipsies  is  the  history  of  a  people 
(mixed,  in  point  of  blood,  as  it  is,)  which  exists  ;  not  the  his¬ 
tory  of  a  people,  like  the  Aborigines  of  North  America, 
which  has  ceased  to  exist,  or  is  daily  ceasing  to  exist.*  It 
is  the  history  of  a  people  within  a  people,  with  whom  we 
come  in  contact  daily,  although  we  may  not  be  aware  of  it. 
Any  person  of  ordinary  intelligence  can  have  little  difficulty 
in  comprehending  the  subject,  shrouded  as  it  is  from  the  eye 
of  the  world.  But  should  he  have  any  such  difficulty,  it  will 
be  dispelled  by  his  coming  in  contact  with  a  Gipsy  who  has 
the  courage  to  own  himself  up  to  be  a  Gipsy.  It  is  no  ar¬ 
gument  to  maintain  that  the  Gipsy  race  is  not  a  race,  be¬ 
cause  its  blood  is  mixed  with  other  people.  That  can  be 
said  of  all  the  races  of  Western  Europe,  the  English  more 
especially  ;  and,  in  a  much  greater  degree,  of  that  of  the 
United  States  of  America.  Every  Gipsy  has  part  of  the 

*  The  fact  of  these  Indians,  and  the  aboriginal  races  found  in  the  coun¬ 
tries  colonized  by  Europeans,  disappearing  so  rapidly,  prevents  our  regard¬ 
ing  them  with  any  great  degree  of  interest.  This  circumstance  detracts 
from  that  idea  of  dignity  which  the  perpetuity  and  civilization  of  their  race 
would  inspire  in  the  minds  of  others. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


447 


Gipsy  blood,  and  more  or  less  of  the  words  and  signs  ;  which, 
taken  in  connection  with  the  rearing  of  Gipsies,  act  upon 
his  mind  in  sucli  a  manner,  that  he  is  penetrated  with  the 
simple  idea  that  he  is  a  Gipsy  ;  and  create  that  distinct  feel¬ 
ing  of  nationality  which  the  matters  of  territory,  and  some¬ 
times  dialect,  government,  and  laws,  do  with  most  of  other 
races.  Take  a  Gipsy  from  any  country  in  the  world  you 
may,  and  the  feeling  of  his  being  a  Gipsy  comes  as  naturally 
to  him  as  does  the  nationality  of  a  Jew  to  a  Jew  ;  although 
we  will  naturally  give  him  a  more  definite  name,  to  distin¬ 
guish  him  ;  such  as  an  English,  Welsh,  Scotch,  or  Irish 
Gipsy,  or  by  whatever  country  of  which  the  Gipsy  happens 
to  be  a  native. 

But  I  am  afraid  that  what  has  been  said  is  not  sufficiently 
explanatory  to  enable  some  people  to  understand  this  sub¬ 
ject.  These  people  know  what  a  Gipsy,  in  the  popular  sense, 
means  ;  they  have  either  seen  him,  and  observed  his  general 
mode  of  life,  or  had  the  same  described  to  them  in  books. 
This  idea  of  a  Gipsy  has  been  impressed  upon  their  minds 
almost  from  infancy.  But  it  puzzles  most  people  to  form  any 
idea  of  a  Gipsy  of  a  higher  order  ;  such  a  Gipsy,  for  exam¬ 
ple,  as  preaches  the  gospel,  or  argues  the  law  :  that  seems, 
hitherto,  to  have  been  almost  incomprehensible  to  them. 
They  know  intuitively  what  is  meant  by  any  particular  peo¬ 
ple  who  occupy  a  territory — any  country,  tract  of  land,  or 
isle.  They  also  know  what  is  meant  by  the  existence  of  the 
Jews.  For  the  subject  is  familiar  to  them  from  infancy ; 
it  is  wrapt  up  in  their  early  reading  ;  it  is  associated  with 
the  knowledge  and  practice  of  their  religion,  and  the  attend¬ 
ance,  on  the  part  of  the  Jews,  at  a  place  of  worship.  They 
have  likewise  seen  and  conversed  with  the  Jews,  or  others 
who  have  done  either  or  both  ;  or  they  are  acquainted  with 
them  by  the  current  remarks  of  the  world.  But  a  people 
resembling,  in  so  many  respects,  the  Jews,  without  having 
any  territory,  or  form  of  creed,  peculiar  to  itself,  or  any  his¬ 
tory,  or  any  peculiar  outward  associations  or  residences,  or 
any  material  difference  in  appearance,  character,  or  oc¬ 
cupation,  is  something  that  the  general  mind  of  mankind 
would  seem  never  to  have  dreamt  of,  or  to  be  almost  capa¬ 
ble  of  realizing  to  itself.  We  have  already  seen  how  a 
writer  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine  gravely  asserts,  that,  al¬ 
though  “  Billy  Marshall  left  descendants  numberless,  the  race, 


448 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


of  which  he  was  one,  was  in  danger  of  becoming  extinct 
when,  in  fact,  it  had  only  passed  from  its  first  stage  of  ex¬ 
istence — the  tent,  into  its  second — tramping,  without  the 
tent ;  and  after  that,  into  its  ultimate  stage — a  settled  life. 
We  have  likewise  seen  how  Sir  Walter  Scott  imagines  that 
the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  decreased,  since  the  time  of 
Fletcher,  of  Saltoun,  about  the  year  1680,  from  100,000  to 
500,  by  “  the  progress  of  time,  and  encrease  of  the  means  of 
life,  and  the  power  of  the  laws.”  Mr.  Borrow  has  not  gone 
one  step  ahead  of  these  writers  ;  and,  although  I  naturally 
enough  excuse  them,  I  am  not  inclined  to  let  him  go  scot- 
free,  since  he  has  set  himself  forward  so  prominently  as  an 
authority  on  the  Gipsy  question.* 

In  explaining  this  subject,  it  is  by  no  means  necessary  to 
“  crack  an  egg”  for  the  occasion.  There  is  doubtless  a 
“  hitch,”  but  it  is  a  hitch  so  close  under  our  very  noses,  that 
it  has  escaped  the  observation  of  the  world.  Still,  the  point 
can  be  readily  enough  realized  by  any  one.  Take,  for  ex¬ 
ample,  the  Walker  family.  Walker  knows  well  enough  who 
his  father,  grandfather,  and  so  forth  were  ;  and  holds  him¬ 
self  to  be  a  .Walker.  Is  it  not  so  with  the  Gipsies  ?  What 
is  it  but  a  question  of  “  folk  ?”  A  question  more  familiar 
to  Scotch  people  than  any  other  people.  If  one’s  ancestors 
were  all  Walkers,  is  not  the  present  Walker  still  a  Walker? 
If  such  or  such  a  family  was  originally  of  the  Gipsy  race,  is 
it  not  so  still?  How  did  Billy  Marshall  happen  to  be  a 
Gipsy  ?  Was  he  a  Gipsy  because  he  lived  in  a  tent  ?  or, 
did  he  live  in  a  tent,  like  a  Gipsy  of  the  old  stock  ?  If  Billy 
was  a  Gipsy,  surely  Billy’s  children  must  also  have  been 
Gipsies ! 

The  error  committed  by  writers,  with  reference  to  the  so- 
called  “  dying-out”  of  the  Gipsy  race,  arises  from  their  not 
distinguishing  between  the  questions  of  race,  blood,  descent, 
and  language,  and  a  style  of  life,  or  character,  or  mode  of 
making  a  living.  Suppose  that  a  native  Scottish  cobbler 
should  leave  his  last,  and  take  to  peddling,  as  a  packman, 

*  A  writer  in  the  Penny  Cyclopa>dia  illustrates  this  absurd  idea,  in  very 
plain  terms,  when  he  says :  “  In  England,  the  Gipsies  have  much  dimin¬ 
ished,  of  late  years,  in  consequence  of  the  enclosure  of  lands,  and  the  laws 
against  vagrants.”  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  idea  of  the  Gipsies  has  been  fol¬ 
lowed  in  a  pictorial  history  of  Scotland,  lately  issued  from  the  Scottish 
press. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


449 


and  ultimately  settle  again  in  a  town,  as  a  respectable  trades¬ 
man.  On  quitting  “the  roads,”  lie  would  cease  to  be  a 
packman  ;  nor  could  his  children  after  him  be  called  pack¬ 
men,  because  the  whole  family  were  native  Scotch  from  the 
first ;  following  the  pack  having  been  only  the  occupation  of 
the  father,  during  part  of  his  life.  Should  a  company  of 
American  youths  and  maidens  take  to  the  swamp,  cranberry- 
ing  and  gipsying,  for  a  time,  it  could  not  be  said  that  they 
had  become  Gipsies ;  for  they  were  nothing  but  ordinary 
Americans.  Should  the  society  of  Quakers  dissolve  into  its 
original  elements,  it  would  just  be  English  blood  quaker- 
ized,  returning  to  English  blood  before  it  was  quakerized. 
But  it  is  astonishing  that  intelligent  men  should  conceive, 
and  others  retail,  the  ideas  that  have  been  expressed  in  re¬ 
gard  to  the  destiny  of  the  Gipsy  race.  What  avails  the  les¬ 
sons  of  history,  or  the  daily  experience  of  every  family  of 
the  land,  the  common  sense  of  mankind,  or  the  instinct  of  a 
Hottentot,  if  no  other  idea  of  the  fate  of  the  Gipsy  race  can 
be  given  than  that  referred  to?  Upon  the  principle  of  the 
Gipsies  “  dying  out,”  by  settling,  and  changing  their  habits, 
it  would  appear  that,  when  at  home,  in  the  winter,  they  were 
not  Gipsies  ;  but  that  they  were  Gipsies,  when  they  resumed 
their  habits,  in  the  spring !  On  the  same  principle,  it  would 
appear,  that,  if  every  Gipsy  in  the  world  were  to  disappear 
from  the  roads  and  the  fields,  and  drop  his  original  habits, 
there  would  be  no  Gipsies  in  the  world,  at  all !  What  idea 
can  possibly  be  more  ridiculous?* 

It  is  better,  however,  to  compare  the  Gipsy  tribe  in  Scot¬ 
land,  at  the  present  day,  to  an  ordinary  clan  in  the  olden 
time  ;  although  the  comparison  falls  far  short  of  the  idea. 

*  The  following  singular  remarks  appeared  in  a  very  late  number  of 
Chambers’  Journal,  on  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies  of  the  Danube :  “  As  the 
wild  cat.  the  otter,  and  the  wolf,  generally  disappear  before  the  advance  of 
civilization,  the  wild  races  of  mankind  are,  in  like  manner  and  degree,  gra¬ 
dually  coming  to  an  end,  and  from  the  same  causes  (!)  'ihe  waste  lands  get 
enclosed,  the  woods  are  cut  down,  the  police  becomes  yearly  more  efficient, 
and  the  Pariahs  vanish  with  their  means  of  subsistence.  [Where  do  they 
goto?]  In  England,  there  are.  at  most,  1,500  Gipsivs(!)  Before  the  end 
of  the  present  century,  they  will  probably  be  extinct  over  Western  Eu¬ 
rope  (!)” 

It  is  perfectly  evident  that  the  world,  outside  of  Gipsydom,  has  to  be 
initiated  in  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies,  as  in  the  first  principles  of  a  science, 
or  as  a  child  is  instructed  in  its  alphabet.  And  yet,  the  above-mentioned 
writer  takes  upon  himself  to  chide  Mr.  Borrow,  in  the  matter  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies. 


450 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


We  know  perfectly  well  wliat  it  was  to  have  been  a  mem¬ 
ber  of  this  or  that  clan.  Sir  Walter  Scott  knew  well  that 
he  was  one  of  the  Buccleueh  clan,  and  a  descendant  of  Auld 
Beard  ie  ;  so  that  he  could  readily  say  that  he  was  a  Scott. 
Wherein,  then,  consists  the  difficulty  in  understanding  what 
a  Scottish  Gipsy  is  ?  Is  it  not  simply  that  he  is  “  one  of 
them  a  descendant  of  that  foreign  race  of  which  we  have 
such  notice  in  the  treaty  of  1540,  between  James  V.  and 
John  Faw,  the  then  head  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  tribe?  A 
Scottish  Gipsy  has  the  blood,  the  words,  and  the  signs,  of 
these  men,  and  as  naturally  holds  himself  to  be  “  one  of 
them,”  as  a  native  Scotchman  holds  himself  to  be  one  of  his 
father’s  children.  How,  then,  can  a  “  change  of  habits” 
prevent  a  man  from  being  his  father’s  son  ?  How  could  a 
“change  of  habits”  make  a  McGregor  anything  but  a  McGreg¬ 
or  ?  How  could  the  effects  of  any  just  and  liberal  law 
towards  the  McGregors  lead  to  the  decrease,  and  final  ex¬ 
tinction,  of  the  McGregors  ?  Every  man,  every  family, 
every  clan,  and  every  people,  are  continually  “  changing 
their  habits,”  but  still  remain  the  same  people.  It  would  be 
a  treat  to  have  a  treatise  from  Mr.  Borrow  upon  the  Gipsy 
race  “  dying  out,”  by  “  changing  its  habits,”  or  by  the  acts 
of  any  government,  or  by  ideas  of  “  gentility.” 

I  have  already  alluded  to  a  resemblance  between  the  posi¬ 
tion  of  the  Gipsy  race,  at  the  present  day,  and  that  of  the 
English  and  American  races.  Does  any  one  say  that  the 
English  race  is  not  a  race  ?  Or  that  the  American  is  not  a 
race?  And  yet  the  latter  is  a  compost  of  everything  that 
migrates  from  the  Old  World.  But  take  some  families,  and 
we  will  find  that  they  are  almost  pure  English,  in  descent, 
and  hold  themselves  to  be  actually  such.  But  ask  them  if 
they  are  English,  and  they  will  readily  answer:  “ English ? 
No,  siree  !”  The  same  principle  holds  still  more  with  the 
Gipsy  race.  It  is  not  a  question  of  country  against  country, 
or  government  against  government,  separated  by  an  ocean  ; 
but  the  difference  proceeds  from  a  prejudice,  as  broad  and 
deep  as  the  ocean,  that  exists  between  two  races — the  native, 
and  that  of  such  recent  introduction — dwelling  in  the  same 
community. 

I  have  explained  the  effect  which  the  mixing  of  native 
blood  with  Gipsy  has  upon  the  Gipsy  race,  showing  that  it 
only  modifies  its  appearance,  and  facilitates  its  passing  into 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


451 


settled  and  respectable  life.  I  will  now  substantiate  the 
principle  from  what  is  daily  observed  among  the  native  race 
itself.  Take  any  native  family — one  of  the  Scotts,  for  ex¬ 
ample.  Let  us  commence  with  a  family,  tracing  its  origin 
to  a  Scott,  in  the  year  1600,  and  imagine  that,  in  its  de¬ 
scent,  every  representative  of  the  name  married  a  wife  of 
another  family,  or  clan,  having  no  Scotts’  blood  in  her  veins. 
In  the  seventh  descent,  there  would  be  only  one  one-hundred 
and  twenty-eighth  part  of  the  original  Scott  in  the  last  re¬ 
presentative  of  the  family.  Would  not  the  last  Scott  be  a 
Scott  ?  The  world  recognizes  him  to  be  a  Scott  ;  he  holds 
himself  to  be  a  Scott — “  every  inch  a  Scott and  doubtless 
he  is  a  Scott,  as  much  as  his  ancestor  who  existed  in  the  year 
1600.  What  difficulty  can  there,  therefore,  be,  in  under¬ 
standing  how  a  man  can  be  a  Gipsy,  whose  blood  is  mixed, 
even  “  dreadfully  mixed,”  as  the  English  Gipsies  express  it? 
Gipsies  are  Gipsies,  let  their  blood  be  mixed  as  much  as  it 
may  ;  whether  the  introduction  of  the  native  blood  may 
have  come  into  the  family  through  the  male  or  the  female 
line. 

In  the  descent  of  a  native  family,  in  the  instance  given, 
the  issue  follows  the  name  of  the  family.  But,  with  the 
Gipsy  race,  the  thing  to  be  transmitted  is  not  merely  a  ques¬ 
tion  of  family,  but  a  race  distinct  from  any  particular  family. 
If  a  Gipsy  woman  marries  into  a  native  family,  the  issue 
retains  the  family  name  of  the  husband,  but  passes  into  the 
Gipsy  tribe  ;  if  a  Gipsy  man  marries  into  a  native  family, 
the  issue  retains  his  name,  in  the  general  order  of  society, 
and  likewise  passes  into  the  Gipsy  tribe  ;  so  that  such 
intermarriages,  which  almost  invariably  take  place  un¬ 
known  to  the  native  race,  always  leave  the  issue  Gipsy. 
For  the  Gipsy  element  of  society  is  like  a  troubled 
spirit,  which  has  been  despised,  persecuted,  and  damned  ; 
cross  it  out,  to  appearance,  as  much  as  you  may,  it  still 
retains  its  Gipsy  identity.  It  then  assumes  the  form  of 
a  disembodied  spirit,  that  will  enter  into  any  kind  of 
tabernacle,  in  the  manner  described,  dispel  every  other 
kind  of  spirit,  clean  or  unclean,  as  the  case  may  be,  and 
come  up,  under  any  garb,  colour,  character,  occupation,  or  creed 
— Gipsy.  It  is  perfectly  possible,  but  not  very  probable,  to 
find  a  Gipsy  a  Jew,  in  creed,  and,  for  the  most  part,  in  point 
of  blood,  in  the  event  of  a  Jew  marrying  a  mixed  Gipsy. 


452 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


He  might  follow  the  creed  of  the  Jewish  parent,  and  be  ad- 
mitted  into  the  synagogue ;  but,  although  outwardly  recog¬ 
nised  as  a  Jew,  and  having  Jewish  features,  he  would  still 
be  a  chabo  ;  for  there  are  Gipsies  of  all  creeds,  and,  like 
other  people  in  the  world,  of  no  creed  at  all.  But  it  is  ex¬ 
tremely  disagreeable  to  a  Gipsy  to  have  such  a  subject  men¬ 
tioned  in  his  hearing  ;  for  he  heartily  dislikes  a  Jew,  and 
says  that  no  one  has  any  “chance”  in  dealing  with  him.  A 
Gipsy  likewise  says,  that  the  two  races  ought  not  to  be  men¬ 
tioned  in  the  same  breath,  or  put  on  the  same  footing,  which 
is  very  true  ;  for  reason  tells  us,  that,  strip  the  Gipsy  of 
every  idea  connected  with  “  taking  bits  o’  things,”  and  lead¬ 
ing  a  wild  life,  and  there  should  be  no  points  of  enmity 
between  him  and  the  ordinary  native  ;  certainly  not  that  of 
creed,  which  exists  between  the  Jew  and  the  rest  of  the 
world,  to  which  question  I  will  by  and  by  refer. 

The  subject  of  the  Gipsies  has  hitherto  been  treated  as  a 
question  of  natural  history,  only,  in  the  same  manner  as  we 
would  treat  ant-bears.  Writers  have  sat  down  beside  them, 
and  looked  at  them— little  more  than  looked  at  them — des¬ 
cribed  some  of  their  habits,  and  reported  their  chaff.  To 
get  to  the  bottom  of  the  subject,  it  is  necessary  to  sound  the 
mind  of  the  Gipsy,  lay  open  and  dissect  his  heart,  identify 
one’s  self  with  his  feelings,  and  the  bearings  of  his  ideas, 
and  construct,  out  of  these,  a  system  of  mental  science,  based 
upon  the  mind  of  the  Gipsy,  and  human  nature  generally. 
For  it  is  the  mind  of  the  Gipsy  that  constitutes  the  Gipsy  ; 
that  which,  in  reference  to  its  singular  origin  and  history, 
is,  in  itself,  indestructible,  imperishable  and  immortal. 

Consider,  then,  this  race,  which  is  of  such  recent  introduc¬ 
tion  upon  the  stage  of  the  European  world,  of  such  a  sin¬ 
gular  origin  and  history,  and  of  such  universal  existence, 
with  such  a  prejudice  existing  against  it,  and  the  merest 
impulse  of  reflection,  apart  from  the  facts  of  the  case,  will 
lead  us  to  conclude,  that,  as  it  has  settled,  it  has  remained 
true  to  itself,  in  the  various  associations  of  life.  In  what¬ 
ever  position,  or  under  whatever  circumstances,  it  is  to  be 
found,  it  may  be  compared,  in  reference  to  its  past  history, 
to  a  chain,  and  the  early  Gipsies,  to  those  who  have  charged 
it  with  electricity.  However  mixed,  or  however  polished, 
the  metal  of  the  links  may  have  since  become,  they  have  al¬ 
ways  served  to  convey  the  Gipsy  fluid  to  every  generation 


0 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


453 


of  the  race.  It  is  even  unnecessary  to  enquire,  particularly, 
how  that  has  been  accomplished,  for  it  is  self-evident  that 
the  process  which  has  linked  other  races  to  their  ancestry, 
has  doubly  linked  the  Gipsy  race  1o  theirs.  Indeed,  the 
idea  of  being  Gipsies  never  can  leave  the  Gipsy  race.  A 
Gipsy’s  life  is  like  a  continual  conspiracy  towards  the  rest 
of  the  world  ;  he  has  always  a  secret  upon  his  mind,  and, 
from  his  childhood  to  his  old  age,  he  is  so  placed  as  if  he 
were,  in  a  negative  sense,  engaged  in  some  gunpowder  plot, 
or  as  if  he  had  committed  a  crime,  let  his  character  be  as 
good  as  it  possibly  may.  Into  whatever  company  he  may 
enter,  he  naturally  remarks  to  himself :  “  I  wonder  if  there 
are  any  of  us  here.”  That  is  the  position  which  the  mixed 
and  better  kind  of  Gipsy  occupies,  generally  and  passively. 
Of  course,  there  are  some  of  the  race  who  are  always 
actually  hatching  some  plot  or  other  against  thg  rest  of  the 
world.  Take  a  Gipsy  of  the  popular  kind,  who  appears  as 
such  to  the  world,  and  there  are  two  ideas  constantly  before 
him— that  of  the  Gorcjio  and  Chabo  :  they  may  slumber 
while  he  is  in  his  house,  or  in  his  tent,  or  when  he  is  asleep, 
or  his  mind  is  positively  occupied  with  something  ;  but  let 
any  one  come  near  him,  or  him  meet  or  accost  any  one,  and 
he  naturally  remarks,  to  himself,  that  the  person  “  is  not  one 
of  us,”  or  that  he  “  is  one  of  us.”  He  knows  well  what  the 
native  may  be  thinking  or  saying  of  him,  and  he  as  naturally 
responds  in  his  own  mind.  This  circumstance  of  itself,  this 
frightful  prejudice  against  the  individual,  makes,  or  at  least 
keeps,  the  Gipsy  wild  ;  it  calls  forth  the  passion  of  resent¬ 
ment,  and  produces  a  feeling  of  reckless  abandon,  that  might 
otherwise  leave  him.  To  that  is  to  be  added  the  feeling,  in 
the  Gipsy’s  mind,  of  his  race  having  been  persecuted,  for  he 
knows  little  of  the  circumstances  attending  the  origin  of  the 
laws  passed  against  his  tribe,  and  attributes  them  to  perse¬ 
cution  alone.  He  considers  that  he  has  a  right  to  travel  ; 
that  he  has  heen  deprived  of  rights  to  travel,  which  were 
granted  to  his  tribe  by  the  monarchs  of  past  ages  ;  and, 
moreover,  that  his  ancestors — the  “  ancient  wandering  Egyp¬ 
tians” — always  travelled.  He  feels  perfectly  independent  of, 
and  snaps  his  fingers  at,  everybody  ;  and  entertains  a  pro¬ 
found  suspicion  of  any  one  who  may  approach  him,  inasmuch 
as  he  imagines  that  the  stranger,  however  fair  he  may  speak 
to  him,  has  that  feeling  for  him,  as  if  he  considered  it  pollu- 


454 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


tion  to  touch  him.  But  he  is  very  civil  and  plausible  when 
he  is  at  home. 

It  is  from  such  material  that  all  kinds  of  settled  Gipsies, 
at  one  time  or  other,  have  sprung.  Such  is  the  prejudice 
against  the  race,  that,  if  they  did  not  hide  the  fact  of  their 
being  Gipsies  from  the  ordinary  natives,  they  would  hardly 
have  the  “  life  of  a  dog”  among  them,  because  of  their  hav¬ 
ing  sprung  from  a  race  which,  in  its  original  state,  has  been 
persecuted,  and  so  much  despised.  By  settling  in  life,  and 
conforming  with  the  ways  of  the  rest  of  the  community,  they 
“  cease  to  be  Gipsies,”  in  the  estimation  of  the  world  ;  for 
the  world  imagines  that,  when  the  Gipsy  conforms  to  its 
ways,  there  is  an  end  of  his  being  a  Gipsy.  Barring  the 
“  habits,”  such  a  Gipsy  is  as  much  a  Gipsy  as  before,  al¬ 
though  he  is  one  incog.  The  wonder  is  not  that  he  and  his 
descendants  should  be  Gipsies  ;  but  the  real  wonder  is,  that 
they  should  not  be  Gipsies.  Neither  he  nor  his  descendants 
have  any  choice  in  the  matter.  Does  the  settled  Gipsy  keep 
a  crockery  or  tin  establishment,  or  an  inn,  or  follow  any 
other  occupation  ?  Then  his  children  cannot  all  follow  the 
same  calling ;  they  must  betake  themselves  to  the  various 
employments  open  to  the  community  at  large,  and,  their 
blood  being  mixed,  they  become  lost  to  the  general  eye, 
amid  the  rest  of  the  population.  While  this  process  is 
gradually  going  on,  the  Gipsy  population  which  always  re¬ 
mains  in  the  tent— the  hive  from  which  the  tribe  swarms — 
attracts  the  attention  of  the  public,  and  prevents  it  from 
thinking  anything  about  the  matter.  In  England,  alone,  we 
may  safely  assume  that  the  tented  Gipsy  population,  about 
the  commencement  of  this  century,  must  have  encreased  at 
least  four-fold  by  this  time,  while,  to  the  eye  of  the  public,  it 
would  appear  that  “  the  Gipsies  are  gradually  decreasing,  so 
that,  by  and  by,  they  will  become  extinct.” 

The  world,  generally,  has  never  even  thought  about  this 
subject.  When  I  have  spoken  to  people  promiscuously  in 
regard  to  it,  they  have  replied  :  “  We  suppose  that  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  as  they  have  settled  in  life,  have  got  lost  among  the 
general  population  :”  than  which  nothing  can  be  more  un¬ 
founded,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  or  ridiculous,  as  a  matter  of 
theory.  Imagine  a  German  family  settling  in  Scotland. 
The  feeling  of  being  Germans  becomes  lost  in  the  first  gen¬ 
eration,  who  do  not,  perhaps,  speak  a  word  of  German. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


455 


There  is  no  prejudice  entertained  for  the  family,  but,  on  the 
contrary,  much  good-will  and  respect  are  shown  it  by  its 
neighbours.  The  parents  identify  themselves  with  those 
surrounding  them  ;  the  children,  born  in  the  country,  be¬ 
come,  or  rather  are,  Scotch  altogether ;  so  that  all  that  re¬ 
mains  is  the  sense  of  a  German  extraction,  which,  but  for 
the  name  of  the  family,  would  very  soon  be  lost,  or  become 
a  mere  matter  of  tradition.  In  every  other  respect,  the  fam¬ 
ily,  sooner  or  later,  becomes  lost  amid  the  general  population. 
In  America,  we  daily  see  Germans  getting  mixed  with,  and 
lost  among,  Americans  ;  but  where  is  the  evidence  of  such 
a  process  going  on,  or  ever  having  taken  place,  in  Great 
Britain,  between  the  Gipsy  and  the  native  races?  The 
prejudice  which  the  ordinary  natives  have  for  the  very  name 
of  Gipsy  is  sufficient  proof  that  the  Gipsy  tribe  has  not  been 
lost  in  any  such  manner.  Still,  it  has  not  only  got  mixed, 
but  “  dreadfully  mixed,”  with  the  native  blood  ;  but  it 
has  worked  up  the  additional  blood  within  itself,  having 
thoroughly  gipsyfied  it.  The  original  Gipsy  blood  may  be 
compared  to  liquid  in  a  vessel,  into  which  native  liquid  has 
been  put :  the  mixture  has,  as  a  natural  consequence,  lost, 
in  a  very  great  measure,  its  original  colour  ;  but,  inasmuch 
as  the  most  important  element  in  the  amalgamation  has  been 
mind ,  the  result  is,  that,  in  its  descent,  it  has  remained,  as 
before,  Gipsy.  Instead,  therefore,  of  the  Gipsies  having 
become  lost  among  the  native  population,  a  certain  part  of 
the  native  blood  has  been  lost  among  them,  greatly  adding 
to  the  number  of  the  body. 

We  cannot  institute  any  comparison  between  the  intro¬ 
duction  of  the  Gipsies  and  the  Huguenots,  the  last  body  of 
foreigners  that  entered  Great  Britain,  relative  to  the  destiny 
of  the  respective  foreign  elements.  For  the  Huguenots  were 
not  a  race,  as  distinguished  from  every  other  creature  in  the 
world,  but  a  religious  party,  taking  refuge  among  a  people 
of  cognate  blood  and  language,  and  congenial  religious  feel¬ 
ings  and  faith  ;  and  were,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  on  a  par,  in 
every  respect,  with  the  ordinary  natives,  with  nothing  con¬ 
nected  with  them  to  prevent  an  amalgamation  with  the 
other  inhabitants  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  having  this  char¬ 
acteristic,  in  common  with  the  nations  of  Europe,  that  the 
place  of  birth  constitutes  the  fact,  and,  taken  in  connection 
with  the  residence,  creates  the  feelings  of  nationality  and 


45G 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


race.  Many  of  my  readers  are,  doubtless,  conversant  with 
the  history  of  the  Huguenots.  Even  in  some  parts  of 
America,  nothing  is  more  common  than  for  people  to  say 
that  they  are  Huguenots,  that  is,  of  Huguenot  descent, 
which  is  very  commonly  made  the  foundation  of  the  con¬ 
nections  and  intimate  associations  of  life.  The  peculiarity 
is  frequently  shown  in  the  appearance  of  the  individuals,  and 
in  such  mental  traits  as  spring  from  the  contemplation  of 
the  Huguenots  as  an  historical  and  religious  party,  even 
when  the  individual  now  follows  the  Catholic  faith.  But 
these  people  differ  in  no  essential  respect  from  the  other 
inhabitants. 

But  how  different  is  the  position  always  occupied  by  the 
Gipsies!  Well  may  they  consider  themselves  “strangers 
in  the  land  for  by  whom  have  they  ever  been  acknowl¬ 
edged  ?  They  entered  Scotland,  for  example,  and  have 
encreased,  progressed,  and  developed,  with  so  great  a  preju¬ 
dice  against  them,  and  so  separated  in  their  feelings  from 
others  around  them,  as  if  none  had  almost  existed  in  the 
country  but  themselves,  while  they  were  “  dwelling  in  the 
midst  of  their  brethren  the  native  blood  that  has  been 
incorporated  with  them  having  the  appearance  as  if  it  had 
come  from  abroad.  They,  a  people  distinct  from  any  other 
in  the  world,  have  sprung  from  the  most  primitive  stage  of 
human  existence — the  tent,  and  their  knowledge  of  their 
race  goes  no  further  back  than  when  it  existed  in  other 
parts  of  the  world,  in  the  same  condition,  more  or  less,  as 
themselves.  They  have  been  a  migratory  tribe,  wherever 
they  have  appeared  or  settled,  and  have  never  ceased  to  be 
the  same  peculiar  race,  notwithstanding  the  changes  which 
they  have  undergone  ;  and  have  been  at  home  wherever  they 
have  found  themselves  placed.  The  mere  place  of  birth,  or 
the  circumstance  under  which  the  individual  has  been 
reared,  has  had  no  effect  upon  their  special  nationality, 
although,  as  citizens  of  particular  countries,  they  have  as¬ 
similated,  in  their  general  ideas,  with  others  around  them. 
And  not  only  have  they  had  a  language  peculiar  to  them¬ 
selves,  but  signs  as  exclusively  theirs  as  are  those  of  Free¬ 
masons.  For  Gipsies  stand  to  Gipsies  as  Freemasons  to 
Freemasons  ;  with  this  difference — that  Masons  are  bound  to 
respond  to  and  help  each  other,  while  such  associations, 
among  the  Gipsies,  are  optional  with  the  individual,  who, 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


457 


however,  is  persuaded  that  the  same  people,  with  these  ex¬ 
clusive  peculiarities,  are  to  be  met  with  in  every  part  of  the 
world.  A  Gipsy  is,  in  his  way,  a  Mason  born,  and,  from  his 
infancy,  is  taught  to  hide  everything  connected  with  his  race, 
from  those  around  him.  He  is  his  own  tyler,  and  tyles  his 
lips  continually.  Imagine,  then,  a  person  taught,  from  his 
infancy,  to  understand  that  he  is  a  Gipsy  ;  that  his  blood,  (at 
least  part  of  it,)  is  Gipsy  ;  that  he  has  been  instructed  in  the 
language,  and  initiated  in  all  the  mysteries,  of  the  Gipsies  ; 
that  his  relations  and  acquaintances  in  the  tribe  have  under¬ 
gone  the  same  experience  ;  that  the  utmost  reserve  towards 
those  who  arc  not  Gipsies  has  been  continually  inculcated 
upon  him,  and  as  often  practised  before  his  eyes  ;  and  what 
must  be  the  leading  idea,  in  that  person’s  mind,  but  that  he 
is  a  Gipsy?  His  pedigree  is  Gipsy,  his  mind  has  been  cast 
in  a  Gipsy  mould,  and  lie  can  no  more  “  cease  to  be  a  Gipsy” 
than  perform  any  other  impossibility  in  nature.  Thus  it  is 
that  Gipsydom  is  not  a  work  of  man’s  hand,  nor  a  creed, 
that  is  “  revealed  from  faith  to  faith  but  a  work  which  has 
been  written  by  the  hand  of  God  upon  the  heart  of  a  family 
of  mankind,  and  is  reflected  from  the  mind  of  one  generation 
to  that  of  another.  It  enters  into  the  feelings  of  the  very 
existence  of  the  man,  and  such  is  the  prejudice  against  his 
race,  on  the  part  of  the  ordinary  natives,  that  the  better 
kind  of  Scottish  Gispy  feels  that  he,  and  more  particularly 
she,  would  almost  be  “  torn  in  pieces,”  if  the  public  really 
knew  all  about  them. 

These  facts  will  sufficiently  illustrate  how  a  people,  “  re¬ 
sembling,  in  so  many  respects,  the  Jews,  without  having  any 
territory,  or  form  of  creed,  peculiar  to  itself,  or  any  history, 
or  any  peculiar  outward  associations  or  residences,  or  any 
material  difference  in  appearance,  character,  or  occupation,” 
can  be  a  people,  living  among  other  people,  and  yet  be  dis¬ 
tinct  from  those  among  whom  they  live.  The  distinction 
consists  in  this  people  having  blood,  language,  a  cast  of  mind, 
and  signs,  peculiar  to  itself;  the  three  first  being  the  only 
elements  which  distinguish  races  ;  for  religion  is  a  secondary 
consideration  ;  one  religion  being  common  to  many  distinct 
races.  This  principle,  which  is  more  commonly  applied  to 
people  occupying  different  countries,  is  equally  applicable  to 
races,  clans,  families,  or  individuals,  living  within  the 
boundary  of  a  particular  country,  or  dwelling  in  the  same 
20 


458 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


community.  We  can  easily  understand  how  two  individuals 
can  be  two  distinct  individuals,  notwithstanding  their  being 
members  of  the  same  family,  and  professing  the  same  religion. 
We  can  still  more  easily  understand  the  same  of  two  families, 
and  still  more  so  of  two  septs  or  clans  of  the  same  general 
race.  And,  surely,  there  can  be  no  difficulty  in  understand¬ 
ing  that  the  Gipsy  tribe,  whatever  may  be  its  habits,  is 
something  different  from  any  native  tribe  :  for  it  has  never 
yet  found  rest  for  the  sole  of  its  foot  among  the  native  race, 
although  it  has  secured  a  shelter  clandestinely  ;  and  of  the 
extent,  and  especially  of  the  nature,  of  its  existence,  the 
world  may  be  said  to  be  entirely  ignorant.  The  position 
which  the  Gipsy  race  occupies  in  Scotland  is  that  which  it 
substantially  occupies  in  every  other  country — unacknowl¬ 
edged,  and,  in  a  sense,  damned,  everywhere.  There  is,  there¬ 
fore,  no  wonder  that  it  should  remain  a  distinct  family 
among  mankind,  cemented  by  its  language  and  signs,  and 
the  knowledge  of  its  universality.  The  phenomenon  rests 
upon  purely  natural  causes,  and  differs  considerably  from 
that  of  the  existence  of  the  Jews.  For  the  Jews  are,  every¬ 
where,  acknowledged  by  the  world,  after  a  sort ;  they  have 
neither  language  nor,  as  far  as  I  know,  signs  peculiar  to 
themselves,  (although  there  are  secret  orders  among  them,) 
but  possess  the  most  ancient  history,  an  original  country,  to 
which  they,  more  or  less,  believe  they  will  be  restored,  and 
a  religion  of  divine  origin,  but  utterly  superseded  by  a 
new  and  better  dispensation.  Notwithstanding  all  that,  the 
following  remark,  relative  to  the  existence  of  the  Jews,  since 
the  dispersion,  may  very  safely  be  recalled:  “The  philoso¬ 
phical  historian  confesses  that  he  has  no  place  for  it  in  all 
his  generalizations,  and  refers  it  to  the  mysteries  of  Provi¬ 
dence.”  For  the  history  of  the  Gipsies  bears  a  very  great 
resemblance  to  it ;  and,  inasmuch  as  that  is  not  altogether 
“  the  device  of  men’s  hands,”  it  must,  also,  be  referred  to 
Providence,  for  Providence  has  a  hand  in  everything. 

It  is  very  true  that  the  “  philosophical  historian  has  no 
place,  in  all  his  generalizations,  for  the  phenomenon  of  the 
existence  of  the  Jews,  since  the  dispersion,”  for  he  has  never 
investigated  the  subject  inductively,  and  on  its  own  merits. 
It  is  poor  logic  to  assert  that,  because  the  American  Indians 
are,  to  a  great  extent,  and  will  soon  be,  extinct,  therefore 
the  existence  of  the  Jews,  to-day,  is  a  miracle.  And  it  would 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


459 


be  nearly  as  poor  logic  to  maintain  the  same  of  the  Jews  in 
connection  with  any  of  the  ancient  and  extinct  nations. 
There  is  no  analogy  between  the  history  of  the  Jews,  since 
the  dispersion,  and  that  of  any  other  people,  (excepting  the 
Gipsies  ;)  and,  consequently,  no  comparison  can  be  instituted 
between  them.*  Before  asking  how  it  is  that  the  Jews  exist 
to-day,  it  would  be  well  to  enquire  by  what  possible  process 
they  could  cease  to  be  Jews.  And  by  what  human  means 
the  Jews,  as  a  people,  or  even  as  individuals,  will  receive 
Christ  as  their  Messiah,  and  thereby  become  Christian 
Jews.  This  idea  of  the  Jews  existing  by  a  miracle  has 
been  carried  to  a  very  great  length,  as  the  following  quota¬ 
tion,  from  an  excellent  writer,  on  the  Evidences  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  will  show  :  “  What  is  this,”  says  he,  “  but  a  miracle? 
connected  with  the  prophecy  which  it  fulfills,  it  is  a  double 
miracle.  Whether  testimony  can  ever  establish  the  credi¬ 
bility  of  a  miracle  is  of  no  importance  here.  This  one  is 
obvious  to  every  man’s  senses.  All  nations  are  its  eye-wit¬ 
nesses . The  laws  of  nature  have  been  suspended 

in  their  case.”  This  writer,  in  a  spirit  of  gambling,  stakes 
the  whole  question  of  revelation  upon  his  own  dogma  ;  and, 
according  to  his  hypothesis,  loses  it.  The  laws  of  nature 
would,  indeed,  have  been  suspended,  in  their  case,  and  a 
miracle  would,  indeed,  have  been  wrought,  if  the  Jews  had 
ceased  to  be  Jews,  or  had  become  anything  else  than  what 
they  are  to-day.  Writers  on  the  Christian  Evidences  should 
content  themselves  with  maintaining  that  the  Jews  have 
fulfilled  the  prophecies,  and  will  yet  fulfill  them,  and  assert 
nothing  further  of  them. 

The  writer  alluded  to  compares  the  history  of  the  Jews, 
since  the  dispersion,  to  the  following  phenomenon  :  “  A 
mighty  river,  having  plunged,  from  a  mountain  height,  into 
the  depths  of  the  ocean,  and  been  separated  into  its  com¬ 
ponent  drops,  and  thus  scattered  to  the  ends  of  the  world, 
and  blown  about,  by  all  winds,  during  almost  eighteen  cen¬ 
turies,  is  still  capable  of  being  disunited  from  the  waters  of 
the  ocean  ;  its  minutest  drops,  vever  having  been  assimilated 
to  any  other,  are  still  distinct, unchanged,  and  ready  to  be 
gathered.”  Such  language  cannot  be  applied  to  the  Jews  ; 
for  the  philosophy  of  their  existence,  to-day,  is  so  very  sim¬ 
ple  in  its  nature,  as  to  have  escaped  the  observation  of  man- 

*  I  lenve  out  of  view  various  scattered  nations  in  Asia. 


460 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


kind.  I  will  give  it  further  on  in  this  Disquisition.  The 
language  in  question  is  somewhat  applicable  to  the  Gipsies, 
for  they  have  become  tcorked  into  all  other  nations,  in  re¬ 
gard  to  blood  and  language,  and  are  “  still  distinct  and 
unchanged,”  as  to  their  being  Gipsies,  whatever  their  habits 
may  be ;  and,  although  there  is  no  occasion  for  them  to  be 
“  gathered,”  they  would  yet,  outwardly  or  inwardly,  heartily 
respond  to  any  call  addressed  to  them.* 

There  is,  as  I  have  already  said,  no  real  outward  difference 
between  many  settled  and  educated  Scottish  Gipsies  and 
ordinary  natives  ;  for  such  Gipsies  are  as  likely  to  have  fair 
hair  and  blue  eyes,  as  black.  Their  characters  and  occupa¬ 
tions  may  be  the  same  ;  they  may  have  intimate  associations 
together  ;  may  be  engaged  in  business  as  partners  ;  may 
even  be  cousins,  nay,  half-brothers.  But  let  them,  on 
separate  occasions,  enter  a  company  of  Gipsies,  and  the  re¬ 
ception  shown  to  them  will  mark  the  difference  in  the  two 
individuals.  The  difference  between  two  such  Scotchmen, 
(for  they  really  are  both  Scotch,)  the  reader  may  remark, 
makes  the  Gipsy  only  a  Gipsy  nominally,  which,  outwardly, 
he  is  ;  but  he  is  still  a  Gipsy,  although,  in  point  of  colour, 
character,  or  condition,  not  one  of  the  old  stock  ;  for  he  has 
“  the  blood,”  and  has  been  reared  and  instructed  as  a  Gipsy. 
But  such  a  Gipsy  is  not  fond  of  entering  a  company  of  Gip¬ 
sies,  strangers  to  him,  unless  introduced  by  a  friend  in  whom 
he  has  confidence,  for  he  is  afraid  of  being  known  to  be  a 
Gipsy.  He  is  more  apt  to  visit  some  of  the  more  original 
kind  of  the  race,  where  he  is  not  known.  On  sitting  down 
beside  them,  with  a  friendly  air,  they  will  be  sure  to  treat 
him  kindly,  not  knowing  but  that  they  may  be  entertaining 
a  Gipsy  unawares  ;  for  such  original  Gipsies,  believing  that 
“  the  blood”  is  to  be  found  well  up  in  life,  feel  very  curious 
when  they  meet  with  such  a  person.  If  he  “  lets  out”  an 
idea  in  regard  to  the  race,  and  expresses  a  kindly  feeling 
towards  the  blood,”  the  suspicions  of  his  friends  are  at 
once  excited,  so  that,  if  iie,  in  an  equivocal  manner,  remarks 
that  he  is  “  not  one  of  them,”  hesitates,  stammers,  and  pro¬ 
tests  that  he  really  is  not  one  of  them,  they  will  as  readily 
swear  that  he  is  one  of  them  ;  for  well  does  the  blackguard 

*  It  is  interesting  to  hear  the  Gipsies  speak  of  their  race  “  taking  of  ” 
this  or  the  other  race.  Said  an  English  Gipsy,  to  me,  with  reference  to  some 
Gipsies  of  whom  we  were  speaking:  “  They  take  of  the  Arabians.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


461 


Gipsy,  (as  the  world  calls  him,)  know  the  delicacy  of  such 
settled  and  educated  Gipsies  in  owning  the  blood.  There 
is  less  suspicion  shown,  on  such  occasions,  when  the  settled 
Gipsy  is  Scotch,  and  the  bush  Gipsy  English  ;  and  particularly 
so  should  the  occasion  be  in  America  ;  for,  when  they  meet  in 
America,  away  from  the  peculiar  relations  under  which  they 
have  been  reared,  and  where  they  can  “breathe,”  as  they  ex¬ 
press  it,  the  respective  classes  are  not  so  suspicious  of  each  other. 

Besides  the  difference  just  drawn  between  the  Gips}*-  and 
ordinary  native — that  of  recognizing  and  being  recognized 
by  another  Gipsy — I  may  mention  the  following  general 
distinction  between  them.  The  ordinary  Scot  knows  that 
he  is  a  Scot,  and  nothing  more,  unless  it  be  something  about 
his  ancestors  of  two  or  three  generations.  But  the  Gipsy’s 
idea  of  Scotland  goes  back  to  a  certain  time,  indefinite  to 
him,  as  it  may  be,  beyond  which  his  race  had  no  existence 
in  the  country.  Where  his  ancestors  sojourned,  immediately, 
or  at  any  time,  before  they  entered  Scotland,  he  cannot  tell ; 
but  this  much  he  knows  of  them,  that  they  are  neither  Scot¬ 
tish  nor  European,  but  that  they  came  from  the  East-.  The 
fact  of  his  blood  being  mixed  exercises  little  or  no  influence 
over  his  feelings  relative  to  his  tribe,  for,  mixed  as  it  may 
be,  he  knows  that  he  is  one  of  the  tribe,  and  that  the  origin 
of  his  tribe  is  his  origin.  In  a  word,  he  knows  that  he  has 
sprung  from  the  tent.  Substitute  the  word  Scotch  for  Moor, 
as  related  of  the  black  African  Gipsies,  at  page  429,  and  he 
may  say  of  himself  and  tribe:  “  We  are  not  Scotch,  but  can 
give  no  account  of  ourselves.”  It  is  a  little  different,  if  the 
mixture  of  his  blood  is  of  such  recent  date  as  to  connect  him 
with  native  families  ;  in  that  case,  he  has  “  various  bloods” 
to  contend  for,  should  they  be  assailed  ;  but  his  Gipsy  blood, 
as  a  matter  of  course,  takes  precedence.  By  marrying  into 
the  tribe,  the  connection  with  such  native  families  gradually 
drops  out  of  the  memory  of  his  descendants,  and  leaves  the 
sensation  of  tribe  exclusively  Gipsy.  Imagine,  then,  that 
the  Gipsy  has  been  reared  a  Gipsy,  in  the  way  so  frequently 
described,  and  that  he  “  knows  ail  about  the  Gipsies,”  while 
the  ordinary  native  knows  really  nothing  about  them  ;  and 
we  have  a  general  idea  of  what  a  Scottish  Gipsy  is,  as  dis¬ 
tinguished  from  an  ordinary  Scotchman.  If  we  admit  that 
every  native  Scot  knows  who  lie  is,  we  may  readily  assume 
that  every  Scottish  Gipsy  knows  who  he  is.  But,  to  place 


462 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


the  point  of  difference  in  a  more  striking  light,  it  may  be 
remarked,  that  the  native  Scot  will  instinctively  exclaim, 
that  “  the  present  work  lias  no  earthly  relation  either  to 
him  or  his  folk  while  the  Scottish  Gipsy  will  as  instinct¬ 
ively  exclaim  :  “It’s  us,  there’s  no  mistake  about  it and 
will  doubtless  accept  it,  in  the  main,  with  a  high  degree  of 
satisfaction,  as  the  history  of  his  race,  and  give  it  to  his 
children  as  such. 

A  respectable,  indeed,  any  kind  of,  Scottish  Gipsy  does 
not  contemplate  his  ancestors — the  “  Pilgrim  Fathers,”  and 
“  Pilgrim  Mothers,”  too— -as  robbers,  although  he  could  do 
that  with  as  much  grace  as  any  Highland  or  Border  Scot, 
but  as  a  singular  people,  who  doubtless  came  from  the  Pyra¬ 
mids  ;  and  their  language,  as  something  about  which  he 
really  does  not  know  what  to  think  ;  whether  it  is  Egyptian, 
Sanscrit,  or  what  it  is.  Still,  he  has  part  of  it ;  he  loves  it : 
and  no  human  power  can  tear  it  out  of  his  heart.  He  knows 
that  every  intelligent  being  sticks  to  his  own,  and  clings  to 
his  descent ;  and  he  considers  it  his  highest  pride  to  be  an 
Egyptian — a  descendant  of  those  swarthy  kings  and  queens, 
princes  and  princesses,  priests  and  priestesses,  and,  of  course, 
thieves  and  thievesses,  that,  like  an  apparition,  found  their 
way  into,  and,  after  wandering  about,  settled  down  in,  Scot¬ 
land.  Indeed,  he  never  knew  anything  else  than  that  he 
was  an  Egyptian  ;  for  it  is  in  his  blood  ;  and,  what  is  more, 
it  is  in  his  heart,  so  that  he  cannot  forget  it,  unless  he  should 
lose  his  faculties  and  become  an  idiot ;  and  then  he  would 
be  an  Egyptian  idiot.  How  like  a  Gipsy  it  was  for  Mrs. 
Fall,  of  Dunbar,  to  “  work  in  tapestry  the  principal  events 
in  the  life  of  the  founder  of  her  family,  from  the  day  the 
Gipsy  child  came  to  Dunbar,  in  its  mother’s  creel,  until  the 
same  Gipsy  child  had  become,  by  its  own  honourable  exer¬ 
tions,  the  head  of  the  first  merca..tile  establishment  then 
existing  in  Scotland.” 

The  Scottish  Gipsies,  when  their  appearance  has  been 
modified  by  a  mixture  of  the  white  blood,  have  possessed,  in 
common  with  the  Highlanders,  the  faculty  of  “  getting  out” 
of  the  original  ways  of  their  race,  and  becoming  superior  in 
character,  notwithstanding  the  excessive  prejudice  that 
exists  against  the  nation  of  which  they  hold  themselves 
members'.  Except  his  strong  partiality  for  his  blood  and 
tribe,  language,  and  signs,  such  a  Gipsy  becomes,  in  his  gen- 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


463 


eral  disposition  and  ways,  like  any  ordinary  native.  It  is 
impossible  that  it  should  be  otherwise.  Whenever  a  Gipsy, 
then,  forsakes  his  original  habits,  and  conforms  with  the 
ways  of  the  other  inhabitants,  lie  becomes,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  an  ordinary  citizen  of  the  Gipsy  clan.  If  he  is  a 
man  of  good  natural  abilities,  the  original  wild  ambition  of 
his  race  acquires  a  new  turn  ;  and  his  capacity  fits  him  for 
any  occupation.  Priding  himself  on  being  an  Egyptian,  a 
member  of  this  world-wide  community,  lie  acquires,  as  he 
gains  information,  a  spirit  of  liberality  of  sentiment ;  he 
reads  history,  and  perceives  that  every  family  of  mankind 
has  not  only  been  barbarous,  but  very  barbarous,  at  one 
time  ;  and,  from  such  reflections,  he  comes  to  consider  his 
own  origin,  and  very  readily  becomes  confirmed  in  his  early, 
but  indistinct,  ideas  of  his  people,  that  they  really  are  some¬ 
body.  Indeed,  he  considers  himself  not  only  as  good,  but 
better  than  other  people.  His  being  forced  to  assume  an 
incognito,  and  “  keep  as  quiet  as  pussy,”  chafes  his  proud 
spirit,  but  it  does  not  render  him  gloomy,  for  his  natural 
disposition  is  too  buoyant  for  that.  IIow,  then,  does  such  a 
Scottish  Gipsy  feel  in  regard  to  his  ancestors?  He  feels 
exactly  as  Highlanders  do,  in  regard  to  theirs,  or,  as  the 
Scottish  Bordercrs'do,  with  reference  to  the  “  Border  Ruf¬ 
fians,”  as  I  have  heard  a  Gipsy  term  them.  Indeed,  the  gal¬ 
lows  of  Perth  and  Stirling,  Carlisle  and  Jedburgh,  could  tell 
some  fine  tales  of  many  respectable  Scottish  people,  in  times 
that  are  past. 

The  children  of  such  a  Gipsy  differ  very  much  from  those 
of  the  same  race  in  their  natural  state,  although  they  may 
have  the  same  amount  of  blood,  and  the  same  eye.  The  eye 
of  the  former  is  subdued,  for  hjs  passions,  in  regard  to  his 
race,  have  never  been  called  forth  ;  while  the  eye  of  the  lat¬ 
ter  rolls  about,  as  if  he  were  conscious  that  every  one  he 
meets  with  is  remarking  of  him,  “  There  goes  a  vagabond  of 
a  Gipsy.”  Two  fine  specimens  of  the  former  kind  of  Gipsies 
attended  the  High  School  of  Edinburgh,  when  I  was  at  that  in¬ 
stitution.  Hearing  the  family  frequently  spoken  ofathome.my 
attention  was  often  taken  up  with  the  boys,  without  under¬ 
standing  what  a  Gipsy  of  that  kind  could  mean  ;  although  I 
had  a  pretty  good  idea  of  the  common  Gipsy,  or  Tinkler,  as 
he  is  generally  called  in  Scotland.  These  two  young  Gip¬ 
sies  were  what  might  be  called  sweet  youths ;  modest  and  shy, 


464 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


among  the  other  boys,  as  young  tamed  wild  turkeys  ;  very 
dark  in  colour,  with  an  eye  that  could  be  caught  in  what¬ 
ever  way  I  might  look  at  them.  They  now  occupy  very 
honourable  positions  in  life.  There  were  other  Gipsies  at  the 
High  School,  at  this  time,  but  they  were  of  the  “  brown  sort.” 
1  have  met,  in  the  United  States,  with  a  Scottish  Gipsy, 
taking  greatly  after  the  Gipsy,  in  his  appearance  ;  a  man 
very  gentlemanly  in  his  manner  and  bearing,  and  as 
neat  and  trim  as  if  he  had  “  come  out  of  a  box.”  It  is  natu¬ 
ral,  indeed,  to  suppose  that  there  must  be  a  great  differ¬ 
ence,  in  many  respects,  between  a  wild,  original  Gipsy, 
and  one  of  the  tame  and  educated  kind,  whose  descent 
is  several,  perhaps  many,  generations  from  the  tent.  In 
the  houses  of  the  former,  things  are  generally  found  lying 
about,  here-away,  there-away,  as  if  they  were  just  going 
to  be  taken  out  and  placed  in  the  waggon,  or  on  the  ass’s 
back. 

It  is  certainly  a  singular  position  which  is  occupied,  from 
generation  to  generation,  and  century  to  century,  by  our  set¬ 
tled  Scottish,  as  well  as  other,  Gipsies,  who  are  not  known 
to  the  world  as  such,  yet  maintain  a  daily  intercourse  with 
others  not  of  their  own  tribe.  It  resembles  a  state  of  semi¬ 
damnation,  with  a  drawn  sword  hanging  over  their  heads, 
ready  to  fall  upon  them  at  any  moment.  But  the  matter 
cannot  be  mended.  They  are  Gipsies,  by  every  physical  and 
mental  necessity,  and  they  accommodate  themselves  to  their 
circumstances  as  they  best  may.  This  much  is  certain,  that 
they  have  the  utmost  confidence  in  their  incognito,  as  regards 
their  descent,  personal  feelings,  and  exclusively  private  asso¬ 
ciations.  The  word  “Gipsy,”  to  be  applied  to  them  by 
strangers,  frightens  them,  in  contemplation,  far  more  than 
it  does  the  children  of  the  ordinary  natives  ;  for  they  imagine 
it  a  dreadful  thing  to  be  known  to  their  neighbours  as  Gip¬ 
sies.  Still,  they  have  never  occupied  any  other  position  ; 
they  have  been  born  in  it,  and  reared  in  it  ;  it  has  even 
been  the  nature  of  the  race,  from  the  very  first,  always  to 
“  work  in  the  dark.”  In  all  probability,  it  has  never  oc¬ 
curred  to  them  to  imagine  that  it  will  ever  be  otherwise  ; 
nor  do  they  evidently  wish  it  ;  for  they  can  see  no  possible 
way  to  have  themselves  acknowledged,  by  the  world,  as 
Gipsies.  The  very  idea  horrifies  them.  So  far  from  letting 
the  world  know  anything  of  them,  as  Gipsies,  their  constant 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


465 


care  is  to  keep  it  in  perpetual  darkness  on  the  subject.  Of 
all  men,  these  Gipsies  may  say  : 

“ . rather  bear  those  ills  we  have, 

Than  fly  to  others  we  know  not  of.” 

Indeed,  the  only  thing  that  worries  such  a  Gipsy  is  the 
idea  that  the  public  should  know  all  about  him  ;  otherwise, 
he  feels  a  supreme  satisfaction  in  being  a  Gipsy  ;  as  well  as 
in  having  such  a  history  of  his  race  as  I  have  informed  him 
I  proposed  publishing,  provided  I  do  not  in  any  way  mix  him 
up  with  it,  or  “  let  him  out.”  By  bringing  up  the  body  in  the 
manner  done  in  this  work,  by  making  a  sweep  of  the  whole 
tribe,  the  responsibility  becomes  spread  over  a  large  number 
of  people  ;  so  that,  should  the  Gipsy  become,  by  any  means, 
known,  personally,  to  the  world,  he  would  have  the  satisfac¬ 
tion  of  knowing  that  he  had  others  to  keep  him  company  ; 
men  occupying  respectable  positions  in  life,  and  respected,  by 
the  world  at  large,  as  individuals. 

Here,  then,  we  have  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for 
everything  connected  with  the  Gipsies  being  hidden  from 
the  rest  of  mankind.  They  have  always  been  looked  upon 
as  arrant  vagabonds,  while  they  have  looked  upon  their  an¬ 
cestors  as  illustrious  and  immortal  heroes.  How,  then,  are 
we  to  bridge  over  this  gulf  that  separates  them,  in  feeling, 
from  the  rest  of  the  world  ?  The  natural  reply  is,  that 
we  should  judge  them,  not  by  their  condition  and  character 
in  times  that  are  past,  but  by  what  they  are  to-day. 

That  the  Gipsies  were  a  barbarous  race  when  they  entered 
European  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  is  just  what 
could  have  been  expected  of  any  Asiatic,  migratory,  tented 
horde,  at  a  time  when  the  inhabitants  of  Europe  were  little 
better  than  barbarous,  themselves,  and  many  of  them  abso¬ 
lutely  so.  To  speak  of  the  Highland  clans,  at  that  time,  as 
being  better  than  barbarous,  would  be  out  of  the  question  ; 
as  to  the  Irish  people,  it  would  be  difficult  to  say  what  they 
really  were,  at  the  same  time.  Even  the  Lowland  Scotch,  a 
hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Gipsies  in  Europe, 
were,  with  some  exceptions,  divided  into  two  classes — “beg¬ 
gars  and  rascals,”  as  history  tells  us.  Is  it,  therefore,  un¬ 
reasonable  to  say,  that,  in  treating  of  the  Gipsies  of  to-day, 
we  should  apply  to  them  the  same  principles  of  judgment 
that  have  been  applied  to  the  ordinary  natives  ?  If  we  refer 
20* 


460 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


to  the  treaty  between  John  Faw  and  James  V.,  in  1540,  we 
will  very  readily  conclude  that,  three  centuries  ago,  the 
leaders  of  the  Gipsies  were  very  superior  men,  in  their  way  ; 
cunning,  astute,  and  slippery  Oriental  barbarians,  with  the 
experience  of  upwards  of  a  century  in  European  society 
generally  ;  well  up  to  the  ways  of  the  world,  and  the  general 
ways  of  Church  and  State  ;  and,  in  a  sense,  at  home  with 
kings,  popes,  cardinals,  nobility,  and  gentry.  That  was  the 
character  of  a  superior  Gipsy,  in  1540.  In  1840,  we  find 
the  race  represented  by  as  fine  a  man  as  ever  graced  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  “  Grand  was  the  repose  of  his  lofty 
brow,  dark  eye,  and  aspect  of  soft  and  melancholy  meaning. 
It  was  a  face  from  which  every  evil  and  earthly  passion 
seemed  purged.  A  deep  gravity  lay  upon  his  countenance, 
which  had  the  solemnity,  without  the  sternness,  of  one  of 
our  old  reformers.  You  could  almost  fancy  a  halo  complet¬ 
ing  its  apostolic  character.”  Some  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies 
of  to-day  could  very  readily  exclaim  : 

“  And,  if  thou  said’st  I  am  not  peer 
To  any  one  in  Scotland  here, 

Highland  or  Lowland,  far  or  near, 

Oh,  Donald,  thou  hast  lied  !” 

But  it  is  impossible  for  any  one  to  give  an  account  of  the 
Gipsies  in  Scotland,  from  the  year  1506,  down  to  the  present 
time.  This  much,  however,  can  be  said  of  them,  that  they 
are  as  much  Gipsies  now  as  ever  they  were  ;  that  is,  the 
Gipsies  of  to-day  are  the  representatives  of  the  race  as  it  ap¬ 
peared  in  Scotland  three  centuries  and  a  half  ago,  and  hold 
themselves  to  be  Gipsies  now,  as,  indeed,  they  always  will  do. 

Ever  since  the  race  entered  Scotland,  we  may  reasonably 
assume  that  it  has  been  dropping  out  of  the  tent  into  settled 
life,  in  one  form  or  other,  and  sometimes  to  a  greater  extent 
at  one  time  than  another.  It  never  has  been  a  nomadic  race, 
in  the  proper  sense  of  the  word ;  for  a  nomad  is  one  who 
possesses  flocks  and  herds,  with  which  he  moves  about  from 
pasturage  to  pasturage,  as  lie  does  in  Asia  to-day.  Mr. 
Borrow  says  that  there  are  Gipsies  who  follow  this  kind  of 
life,  in  Russia  ;  but  that,  doubtless,  arises  from  the  circum¬ 
stances  in  which  they  have  found  themselves  placed.*  “  I 

*  There  is  scarce  a  part  of  the  habitable  world  where  they  are  not  to  be 
found  ;  their  tents  are  alike  pitched  on  the  heaths  of  Brazil  and  the  ridges 
of  the  Himalayan  hills  ;  and  their  language  is  heard  at  Moscow  and  Madrid, 
in  the  streets  of  London  and  Stamboul.  They  are  found  in  all  parts  of 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


467 


think,”  said  an  English  Gipsy  to  me,  “  that  we  must  take 
partly  of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  and  partly  of  the  Arabs  ; 
from  the  Egyptians,  owing  to  our  settled  ways,  and  from  the 
Arabs,  owing  to  our  wandering  habits.”  Upon  entering 
Europe,  they  must  have  wandered  about  promiscuously,  for 
some  short  time,  before  pitching  upon  territories,  which  they 
would  divide  among  themselves,  under  their  kings  and  chief¬ 
tains.  Here  we  find  the  proper  sphere  of  the  Gipsy,  in  his 
original  state.  In  1506,  Anthonius  Gawino  is  represented,  by 
James  IV.,  to  his  uncle,  the  king  of  Denmark,  as  having 
“  sojourned  in  Scotland  in  peaceable  and  catholic  manner 
and  John  Faw,  by  James  V.,  in  1540,  during  his  “  pilgrim¬ 
age,”  as  “  doing  a  lawful  business  which  evidently  had 
some  meaning,  as  we  find  that  seven  pounds  were  paid  to  the 
Egyptians  by  the  king’s  chamberlain.  In  1496,  the  Gipsies 
made  musket-balls  for  the  king  of  Hungary  ;  and,  in  1565, 
cannon-balls  for  the  Turks.  In  short,  they  were  travelling 
smiths,  or  what  has  since  been  called  tinkers,  with  a  turn  for 
any  kind  of  ordinary  mechanical  employment,  and  particu¬ 
larly  as  regards  working  in  metals  ;  dealers  in  animals,  petty 
traders,  musicians,  and  fortune-tellers,  with  a  wonderful 
knack  for  “  transferring  money  from  other  people’s  pockets 
into  their  own  living  representatively,  but  apparently  not 
wholly,  in  tents,  and  “  helping  themselves  ”  to  whatever  they 
stood  in  need  of.* 

Speaking  of  the  Gipsy  chiefs  mentioned  in  the  act  of  James 
V.,  our  author,  as  we  have  seen,  very  justly  remarks  :  “  It 
cannot  be  supposed  that  the  ministers  of  three  or  four  suc¬ 
ceeding  monarchs  would  have  suffered  their  sovereigns  to 
be  so  much  imposed  on,  as  to  allow  them  to  put  their  names 

Russia,  with  the  exception  of  the  Government  of  St.  Petersburg,  from  which 
they  have  been  banished.  In  most  of  the  provincial  towns,  they  are  to  be 
found  in  a  state  of  half  civilization,  supporting  themselves  by  trafficking  in 
horses,  or  by  curing  the  disorders  incidental  to  those  animals.  But  the  vast 
majority  reject  this  manner  of  life,  and  traverse  the  country  in  bands,  like 
the  ancient  llamaxobioi ;  the  immense  grassy  plains  of  Russia  affording 
pasturage  for  their  herds  of  cattle,  on  which,  and  the  produce  of  the  chase, 
they  chiefly  depend  for  subsistence. — Borrow. 

*  Considering  what  is  popularly  understood  to  be  the  natural  disposition 
and  capacity  of  the  Gipsies,  we  would  readily  conclude  that  to  turn  inn¬ 
keepers  would  be  the  most  unlikely  of  all  their  employments  ;  j  et  that  is 
very  common.  Mahommed  said,  “  If  the  mountain  will  not  come  to  us,  we 
will  go  to  the  mountain.”  The  Gipsies  say,  “  If  we  do  not  go  to  the  peo¬ 
ple,  the  people  must  come  to  us  and  so  tliey  open  their  houses  of  enter¬ 
tainment. 


468 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


to  public  documents  styling  poor  and  miserable  wretches,  as 
we  at  the  present  day  imagine  them  to  have  been, 1  Lords 

and  Earls  of  Little  Egypt.’ . I  am  disposed 

to  believe  that  Anthonius  Gawino,  in  1506,  and  John  Faw,  in 
1540,  would  personally,  as  individuals,  that  is,  as  Gipsy 
rajahs,  have  a  very  respectable  and  imposing  appearance,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  officers  of  the  crown.”  (Page  108.)*  We 
have  likewise  seen  how  many  laws  were  passed,  by  the  Scots 
parliament,  against  “  great  numbers  of  his  majesty’s  subjects, 
of  whom  some  outwardly  pretend  to  be  famous  and  unspot¬ 
ted  gentlemen,”  for  encouraging  and  supporting  the  Gipsies  ; 
and,  in  the  case  of  William  Auchterlony,  of  Cayrine,  for  re¬ 
ceiving  into  their  houses,  and  feasting  them,  their  wives, 
children,  servants ,  and  companies.  All  this  took  place 
more  than  a  hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Gipsies  in 
Scotland,  and  seventy-six  years  after  the  date  of  the  treaty 
between  James  Y.  and  John  Faw.  We  can  very  readily 
believe  that  the  sagacity  displayed  by  this  chief  and  his 
folk,  to  evade  the  demand  made  upon  them  to  leave  the 
country,  was  likewise  employed  to  secure  their  perpetual 
existence  in  it;  for,  from  the  first,  their  intention  was  evi¬ 
dently  to  possess  it.  Hence  their  original  story  of  being 
pilgrims,  which  would  prevent  the  authorities  from  disturb¬ 
ing  them,  but  which  had  no  effect  upon  Henry  YIII.,whom, 
of  all  the  monarchs  of  Europe,  they  did  not  hoax.  Grell- 
mann  mentions  their  having  obtained  passports  from  the 
Emperor  Sigismund,  and  other  princes,  as  well  as  from  the 
Idng  of  France,  and  the  Pope. 

Entering  Scotland  with  the  firm  determination  to  “pos¬ 
sess”  the  country,  the  Gipsies  would,  from  the  very  first, 
direct  their  attention  towards  its  occupation,  and  draw  into 
their  body  much  of  the  native  blood,  in  the  way  which  I 
have  already  described.  And  there  was  certainly  a  large 


*  TJie  following  is  a  description  of  a  superior  Spanish  Gipsy,  in  1584,  a3 
quoted  by  Mr.  Borrow,  from  the  memoirs  of  a  Spaniard,  who  had  seen 
him  :  “  At  this  time,  they  had  a  count,  a  fellow  who  spoke  the  Castilian 
idiom  with  as  much  purity  as  if  he  had  been  a  native  of  Toledo,  lie  was 
acquainted  with  all  the  ports  of  Spain,  and  all  the  difficult  and  broken 
ground  of  the  provinces.  lie  knew  the  exact  strength  of  every  city,  and 
who  were  the  principal  people  in  each,  and  the  exact  amount  of  their 
property  ;  there  was  nothing  relative  to  the  state,  however  secret,  that  he 
was  not  acquainted  with  ;  nor  did  he  make  a  mystery  of  his  know 'edge,  but 
publicly  boasted  of  it.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


469 


floating  population  in  the  country,  from  which  to  draw  jt. 
It  would  little  consist  with  the  feelings  of  Highland  or  Low¬ 
land  outlaws  to  exist  without  female  society  ;  nor  was  that 
female  society  easily  to  be  found,  apart  from  some  kind  of 
settled  life  ;  hence,  in  seeking  for  a  home,  which  is  insepar¬ 
able  from  the  society  of  a  female,  our  native  outlaw  would 
very  naturally  and  readily  “  haul  up”  with  the  Gipsy  woman  ; 
for,  being  herself  quite  “  at  home,”  in  her  tent,  she  would 
present  just  the  desideratum  which  the  other  was  in  quest 
of.  For,  although  “  Gipsies  marry  with  Gipsies,”  it  is  only 
as  a  rule,  the  exceptions  being  many,  and,  in  all  probability, 
mucli  more  common,  in  the  early  stage  of  their  European 
history.  The  present  “  dreadfully  mixed”  state  of  Gipsy- 
dom  is  a  sufficient  proof  of  this  fact.  The  aversion,  on  the 
part  of  the  Gipsy,  to  intermarry  with  the  ordinary  natives, 
proceeds,  in  the  first  place,  from  the  feelings  which  the  na¬ 
tives  entertain  for  her  race.  Remove  those  feelings,  and  the 
Gipsies,  as  a  body,  would  still  marry  among  themselves  ;  for 
their  pride  in  their  peculiar  sept,  and  a  natural  jealousy  of 
those  outside  of  their  mystic  circle,  would,  alone,  keep  the 
world  from  penetrating  their  secrets,  without  its  being  ex¬ 
tended  to  him  who,  by  intermarriage,  became  “  one  of  them.” 
There  is  no  other  obstacle  in  the  way  of  marriages  between 
the  two  races,  excepting  the  general  one,  on  the  part  of  the 
Gipsies,  and  which  is  inherent  in  them,  to  preserve  them¬ 
selves  as  a  branch  of  a  people  to  be  found  in  every  country. 
Admitting  the  general  aversion,  on  the  part  of  the  Gipsies, 
to  marry  with  natives,  and  we  at  once  see  the  unlikelihood 
of  their  women  'playing  the  ivanton  with  them.  Still,  it  is 
very  probable  that  they,  in  some  instances,  bore  children  to 
some  of  the  “unspotted  gentlemen,”  mentioned,  by  act  of 
parliament,  as  having  so  greatly  protected  and  entertained 
the  tribe.  Such  illegitimate  children  would  be  put  to  good 
service  by  the  Gipsy  chiefs.  By  one  means  or  other,  there 
is  no  doubt  but  the  Gipsies  made  a  dead-set  upon  certain 
native  families  of  influence.  The  capacity  that  could  devise 
such  a  scheme  for  remaining  in  the  country,  as  is  contained 
in  the  act  of  1540,  and  influence  the  courts  of  the  regency, 
and  of  Queen  Mary,  to  reinstate  them  in  their  old  position, 
after  the  severe  order  of  1541,  proclaiming  banishment 
within  thirty  days,  and  death  thereafter,  even  when  the 
“  lords  understood,  perfectly,  the  great  thefts  and  skaiths, 


470 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


(damages,)  done  by  the  said  Egyptians,”  could  easily  execute 
plans  to  secure  a  hold  upon  private  families.  If  to  all  this 
we  add  the  very  nature  of  Gipsydom  ;  how  it  always  remains 
true  to  itself,  as  it  gets  mixed  with  the  native  blood  ;  how  it 
works  its  way  up  in  the  world  ;  and  how  its  members  “  stick 
to  each  other  ;”  we  can  readily  understand  how  the  tribe 
acquired  important  and  influential  friends  in  high  places. 
Do  not  speak  of  the  attachment  of  the  Jewess  to  her  people  : 
that  of  the  Gipsy  is  greater.  A  Jewess  passes  current,  any¬ 
where,  as  a  Jewess  ;  but  the  Gipsy,  as  she  gets  connected 
with  a  native  circle,  and  moves  about  in  the  world,  does  so 
clandestinely,  for,  as  a  Gipsy,  she  is  incog. ;  so  that  her  at¬ 
tachment  remains,  at  heart,  with  her  tribe,  and  is  all  the 
stronger,  from  the  feelings  that  are  peculiar  to  her  singularly 
wild  descent.  I  am  very  much  inclined  to  think  that  Mrs. 
Baillie,  of  Lamington,  mentioned  under  the  head  of  Tweed- 
dale  and  Clydesdale  Gipsies,  was  a  Gipsy  ;  and  the  more  so, 
from  having  learned,  from  two  different  sources,  that  the 

present  Baillie,  of - ,  is  a  Gipsy.  Considering  that 

courts  of  justice  have  always  stretched  a  point,  to  convict, 
and  execute ,  Gipsies,  it  looks  like  something  very  singular,  that 
William  Baillie,  a  Gipsy,  who  was  condemned  to  death,  in 
1714,  should  have  had  his  sentence  commuted  to  banishment, 
and  been  alloioed  to  go  at  large ,  while  others,  condemned  with 
him,  were  executed.  And  three  times  did  he  escape  in  that 
manner,  till,  at  last,  he  was  slain  by  one  of  his  tribe.  It 
also  seems  very  singular,  that  James  Baillie,  another  Gipsy, 
in  1772,  should  have  been  condemned  for  the  murder  of  his 
wife,  and,  also,  had  his  sentence  commuted  to  banishment, 
and  been  allowed  to  go  at  large  :  and  that  twice,  at  least. 
Well  might  McLaurin  remark  :  “  Few  cases  have  occurred 
in  which  there  has  been  such  an  expenditure  of  mercy.” 
And  tradition  states  that  “  the  then  Mistress  Baillie,  of 
Lamington,  and  her  family,  used  all  their  interest  in  obtain¬ 
ing  these  pardons  for  James  Baillie.”  No  doubt  of  it.  But 
the  reason  for  all  this  was,  doubtless,  different  from  that  of 
“  James  Baillie,  like  his  fathers  before  him,  pretending  that 
he  was  a  bastard  relative  of  the  family  of  Lamington.” 

A  somewhat  similar  case  of  pardoning  Gipsies  is  related 
by  a  writer  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  as  having  occurred 
towards  the  end  of  last  century  ;  the  individual  procuring 
the  pardon  being  the  excitable  Duchess  of  Gordon,  the  same, 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


471 


I  presume,  whom  Burns’  genius  “  fairly  lifted  off  her  feet.” 
The  following  are  the  circumstances,  as  given  by  this  writer: 
A  Berwickshire  farmer  had  been  missing  sheep,  and  lay  in 
wait,  one  night,  with  a  servant,  for  the  depredators.  They 
seized  upon  Tam  Gordon,  the  captain  of  the  Spittal  Gipsies, 
and  his  son-in-law,  Ananias  Faa,  in  the  very  act  of  stealing 
the  sheep  ;  when  the  captain  drew  a  knife,  to  defend  him¬ 
self.  They  were  convicted  and  condemned  for  the  crime  ; 
“  but  afterwards,  to  the  great  surprise  of  their  Berwickshire 
neighbours,  obtained  a  pardon,  a  piece  of  unmerited  and  ill- 
bestowed  clemency,  for  which,  it  was  generally  understood, 
they  were  indebted  to  the  interest  of  a  noble  northern  family, 
of  their  own  name.  We  recollect  hearing  a  sort  of  ballad 
upon  Tam’s  exploits,  and  his  deliverance  from  the  gallows, 
through  the  intercession  of  a  celebrated  duchess,  but  do  not 
recollect  any  of  the  words.”* 

A  transaction  like  this  must  strike  the  reader  as  some¬ 
thing  very  remarkable.  Sheep-stealing,  at  the  time  men¬ 
tioned,  was  a  capital  offence,  for  which  there  was  almost  no 
pardon  ;  and  more  especially  in  the  case  of  people  who  were 
of  notorious  “  habit  and  repute  Gipsies,”  caught  in  the  very 
act,  which  was  aggravated  by  their  drawing  an  “invasive 
weapon.”  Not  only  were  they  condemned,  but  we  may 
readily  assume  that  the  “  country-side  ”  were  crying,  “  Hang 
and  bury  the  vagabonds  and  death  seemed  certain  ;  when 
in  steps  the  duchess,  and  snatches  them  both  from  the  very 
teeth  of  the  gallows.  What  guarantee  have  we  that  the 
duchess  was  not  a  Gipsy  ?  It  certainly  was  not  likely  that 
a  Gipsy  woman  would  step  out  of  her  tent,  and  seize  a 
coronet ;  but  what  cannot  we  imagine  to  have  taken  place, 
in  “  the  blood”  working  its  way  up,  during  the  previous  250 
years?  What  guarantee  have  we  that  Professor  Wilson 
was  not  “  taking  a  look  at  the  old  thing,”  when  rambling 
with  the  Gipsies,  in  his  youth  ?  There  are  Gipsy  families  in 
Edinburgh,  to-day,  of  as  respectable  standing,  and  of  as  good 
descent,  as  could  be  said  of  him,  or  many  others  who  have 
distinguished  themselves  in  the  world. 

We  must  not  forget  that,  when  the  Gipsies  entered  Scot¬ 
land,  it  was  for  better  or  for  worse,  just  for  what  was 
to  “turn  up.”  Very  soon  after  their  arrival,  the  country 

*  I  should  suppose  that  this  was  Captain  Gordon  who  behaved  himself 
like  a  prince,  at  the  North  Queensferry.  See  page  172. 


472 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


would  become  their  country,  as  much  as  that  of  the  ordinary 
natives  ;  so  that  Scotland  became  their  home,  as  much  as  if 
it  had  always  been  that  of  their  race,  except  their  retaining 
a  tradition  of  their  recent  arrival  from  some  part  of  the 
East,  and  a  singular  sense  of  being  part  and  parcel  of  “  the 
Egyptians  that  were  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth  ;” 
neither  of  which  the  odious  prejudice  against  “  the  blood” 
allowed  them  to  forget ;  assuming  that  they  were  will¬ 
ing,  and,  moreover,  that  the  cast  of  their  minds  allowed 
them,  to  do  either.  The  idea  which  has  been  expressed  by 
the  world,  generally,  of  the  Gipsy  tribe  gradually  assimi¬ 
lating  with  the  native  race,  and  ultimately  “  getting  lost 
among  it,”  applies  to  the  principle  at  issue  ;  for,  as  I  have 
already  said,  it  has  got  greatly  lost,  in  point  of  appearance, 
arid  general  deportment,  among  the  ordinary  natives,  but  has 
remained,  heart  and  soul,  Gipsy,  as  before.  Even  with  the 
native  race,  we  will  find  that  the  blood  of  the  lowly  is  always 
getting  mixed  with  that  in  the  higher  circles  of  life.  We 
have  the  case  of  a  girl  going  to  service  with  a  London  brewer, 
then  becoming  his  wife,  then  his  widow,  then  employing  a 
lawyer  to  manage  her  affairs,  and  afterwards  marrying  him, 
who,  in  his  turn,  became  Earl  of  Clarendon,  and  father,  by 
her,  of  the  queen  of  James  II.  Towards  the  end  of  last,  or 
beginning  of  the  present,  century,  we  hear  of  a  poor  actress, 
who  commenced  life  in  a  provincial  theatre,  marrying  one 
of  the  Coutts,  the  bankers,  and  dying  Duchess  of  St.  Albans. 
Such  events  have  been  of  much  more  common  occurrence  in 
less  elevated  spheres  of  life  ;  and  the  Gipsy  race  has  had  its 
share  of  them.  For  this  reason,  it  is  really  impossible  to 
say,  who,  among  the  Scotch,  are,  and  who  are  not,  of  the 
Gipsy  tribe  ;  such  a  thorough  mess  has  the  “  mixing  of  the 
blood”  made  of  the  Scottish  population.  Notwithstanding 
all  that,  there  is  a  certain  definite  number  of  “  Gipsies”  in 
Scotland,  known  to  God  only  ;  while  each  Gipsy  is  known 
in  his  or  her  conscience  to  belong  to  the  tribe.  This 
much  is  certain,  that  we  need  not  consult  the  census  returns 
for  the  number  of  the  tribe  in  Scotland.  However  easy,  or 
however  difficult,  it  may  be,  to  define  what  a  Gipsy,  in  re¬ 
gard  to  external  or  internal  circumstances,  is,  this  much  is 
certain,  that  the  feeling  in  his  mind  as  to  his  being  a  Gipsy, 
is  as  genuine  and  emphatic  as  is  the  feeling  in  the  mind  of 
a  Jew  being  a  Jew. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


473 


The  circumstances  connected  with  the  perpetuation  of  the 
Gipsy  and  Jewish  races  greatly  resemble  each  other.  Both 
races  are  scattered  over  the  face  of  the  earth.  The  Jew  has 
had  a  home  ;  he  has  a  strong  attachment  to  it,  and  looks 
forward  to  enter  it  at  some  future  day.  The  Gipsy  may  be 
said  never  to  have  had  a  home,  but  is  at  home  everywhere. 
“  What  part  of  England  did  you  come  from  ?”  said  I  to  an 
English  semi-tented  Gipsy,  in  America.  “  What  part  of 
England  did  I  come  from,  did  you  sajr  ?  I  come  from  all 
over  England  !”  The  Scottish  race,  as  a  race,  is  confined  to 
people  born  in  Scotland  ;  for  the  children  of  expatriated 
Scots  are  not  Scotchmen.  And  so  it  is  with  people  of  other 
countries.  The  mere  birth  upon  the  soil  constitutes  their 
race  or  nationality,  although  subsequent  events,  in  early  life, 
may  modify  the  feelings,  or  draw  them  into  a  new  channel, 
by  a  change  of  domicile,  in  infancy.  But  the  Jew’s  nation¬ 
ality  is  everywhere  ;  ’tis  in  his  family,  and  his  associations 
with  others  of  his  race.  Make  the  acquaintance  of  the 
Jews,  and  you  will  find  that  each  generation  of  them  tell 
their  “  wonderful  story”  to  the  following  generation,  and 
the  story  is  repeated  to  the  following,  and  the  following. 
The  children  of  Jews  are  taught  to  know  they  are  Jews,  be¬ 
fore  they  can  even  lisp.  Soon  do  they  know  that  much  of 
the  phenomenon  of  their  race,  as  regards  its  origin,  its  his¬ 
tory,  and  its  universality,  to  draw  the  distinction  between 
them  and  those  around  them  who  are  not  Jews.  Soon  do 
they  learn  how  their  race  has  been  despised  and  persecuted, 
and  imbibe  the  love  which  their  parents  have  for  it.  and  the 
resentment  of  the  odium  cast  upon  it  by  others.  It  has  been 
so  from  the  beginning  of  their  history  out  of  Palestine,  and 
even  while  there.  Were  it  only  religion,  considered  in  it¬ 
self,  that  has  kept  the  Jews  together  as  a  people,  they  might 
have  got  lost  among  the  rest  of  mankind  ;  for  among  the 
Jews  there  are  to  be  found  the  rankest  of  infidels ;  even 
Jewish  priests  will  say  that,  “  it  signifies  not  what  a  man’s 
religion  may  be,  if  he  is  only  sincere  in  it.”  Is  it  a  feeling, 
or  a  knowledge,  of  religion  that  leads  a  Jewish  child,  almost 
the  moment  it  can  speak,  to  say  that  it  is  a  Jew  ?  It  is 
simply  the  workings  of  the  phenomena  of  race  that  account 
for  this ;  the  religion  peculiar  to  Jews  having  been  intro¬ 
duced  among  them  centuries  after  their  existence  as  a 
people.  Being  exclusively  theirs  in  its  very  nature,  they 


474 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


naturally  follow  it,  as  other  people  do  theirs  ;  but,  although, 
from  the  nature  of  its  origin,  it  presents  infinitely  greater 
claims  upon  their  intelligent  belief  and  obedience,  they  have 
yielded  no  greater  submission  to  its  spirit  and  morals,  or 
even  to  its  forms,  than  many  other  people  have  done  to  their 
religion,  made  up,  as  that  has  been,  of  the  most  fabulous 
superstition,  on  the  principle,  doubtless,  that 

“  The  zealous  crowds  in  ignorance  adore. 

And  still,  the  less  they  know,  they  fear  the  more.” 

The  Jews  being  a  people  before  they  received  the  religion 
by  which  they  are  distinguished,  it  follows  that  the  religion, 
in  itself,  occupies  a  position  of  secondary  importance,  al¬ 
though  the  profession  of  it  acts  and  reacts  upon  the  people, 
in  keeping  them  separate  from  others.  The  most,  then,  that 
can  be  said  of  the  religion  of  the  Jews  is,  that,  following  in 
the  wake  of  their  history  as  a  people,  it  is  only  one  of  the  pil¬ 
lars  by  which  the  building  is  supported.*  If  enquiry  is  made 
of  Jewish  converts  to  Christianity,  Ave  will  find  that,  not¬ 
withstanding  their  having  separated  from  their  brethren, 
on  points  of  creed,  they  hold  themselves  as  much  Jews  as 
before.  But  the  conversions  of  Jews  are, 

“  Like  angels’  visits,  few  and  far  between.” 

In  the  case  of  individuals  forsaking  the  Jewish,  and  joining 
the  Christian,  Church,  that  is,  believing  in  the  Messiah 
having  come,  instead  of  to  come,  it  is  natural,  I  may  say 
inevitable,  for  them  to  hold  themselves  Jews.  They  have 
feelings  which  the  world  cannot  understand.  But  beyond 
the  nationality,  physiognomy,  and  feelings  of  Jews,  there 
are  no  points  of  difference,  and  there  ought  to  be  no 
grounds  of  offense,  between  them  and  the  ordinary  inliab- 

*  The  only  part  of  the  religion  of  the  Jews  having  an  origin  prior  to  the 
establishment  of  the  Mosaic  law  was  circumcision,  which  was  termed  the 
covenant  made  by  God  with  Abraham  and  his  seed.  (Gen.  xvii.  10-14.) 
The  abolition  of  idols,  and  the  worship  of  God  alone,  are  presumed,  although 
not  expressed.  The  Jews  lapsed  into  gross  idolatry  while  in  Egypt,  but 
were  not  likely  to  neglect  circumcision,  as  that  was  necessary  to  maintain 
a  physical  uniformity  among  the  race,  but  did  not  enter  into  the  wants, 
and  hopes,  and  fears,  inherent  in  the  human  breast,  and  stimulated  by  tha 
daily  exhibition  of  the  phenomena  of  its  existence.  The  second  table  of 
the  moral  law  was,  of  course,  written  upon  the  hearts  of  the  Jews,  in  com 
mon  with  those  of  the  Gentiles.  (Rom.  ii.  14,  15.) 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


475 


itants.  While  the  points  of  antipathy  between  the  Jew 
and  Christian  rest,  not  upon  race,  considered  in  itself,  but 
mainly  upon  religion,  and  the  relations  proceeding  from  it, 
it  has  to  be  seen  what  is  to  be  the  feeling,  on  the  part  of 
the  world,  towards  the  Gipsy  race  ;  such  part  of  it,  at  least, 
whose  habits  are  unexceptionable.  This  is  one  of  the  ques¬ 
tions  which  it  is  the  object  of  this  Disquisition  to  bring  to 
an  issue. 

Substitute  the  language  and  signs  of  the  Gipsies  for  the 
religion  of  the  Jews,  and  we  find  that  the  rearing  of  the 
Gipsies  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  the  Jews  ;  and  in 
the  same  manner  do  they  hold  themselves  to  be  Gipsies. 
But  the  one  can  be  Gipsies,  though  ignorant  of  their  lan¬ 
guage  and  signs,  and  the  other,  Jews,  though  ignorant  of 
their  religion  ;  the  mere  sense  of  tribe  and  community  being 
sufficient  to  constitute  them  members  of  their  respective 
nationalities.  The  origin  of  the  Gipsies  is  as  distinct  from 
that  of  the  rest  of  the  world,  in  three  continents,  at  least, 
as  is  that  of  the  Jews  ;  and,  laying  aside  the  matter  of  re¬ 
ligion,  their  history,  so  far  as  it  is  known  to  the  world,  is  as 
different.  If  they  have  no  religion  peculiar  to  themselves, 
to  assist  in  holding  them  together,  like  the  Jews,  they  have 
that  which  is  exclusively  theirs — language  and  signs  ;  about 
which  there  are  no  such  occasions  to  quarrel,  as  in  the  affair 
of  a  religious  creed.  Indeed,  the  Gipsy  race  stands  towards 
religions,  as  the  Christian  religion  does  towards  races. 

People  are  very  apt  to  speak  of  the  blood  of  the  Jews 
being  “  purity  itself than  which  nothing  is  more  unfounded. 
If  a  person  were  asked,  What  is  a  pure  Jew  ?  he  would  feel 
puzzled  to  give  an  intelligent  answer  to  the  question.  We 
know  that  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  the  original  parents  of 
the  Jewish  race,  but  that  much  blood  has  been  added  to  it, 
from  other  sources,  ever  since.  Even  four  of  the  patriarchs, 
the  third  in  descent  from  Abraham,  were  the  sons  of  concu¬ 
bines,  who  were,  doubtless,  bought  with  money,  from  the 
stranger,  (Gen.  xvii.  12  and  13,)  or  the  descendants  of  such, 
and  were,  in  all  probability,  of  as  different  a  race  from  their 
mistresses,  Leah  and  Rachel,  as  was  the  bondmaid,  Hagar, 
the  Egyptian,  from  her  mistress,  Sarah.  Joseph  married  a 
daughter  of  the  Egyptian  priest  of  On,  and  Moses,  a  daugh¬ 
ter  of  an  Ethiopian  priest  of  Midian.  From  a  circumstance 
mentioned  in  the  Exodus,  it  would  appear  that  Egyptian 


476 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


blood,  perhaps  much  of  it,  had  been  incorporated  with  that 
of  the  Jews,  while  in  Egypt.*  And  much  foreign  blood 
seems  to  have  been  added  to  the  body,  between  the  Exodus 
and  the  Babylonian  captivity,  through  the  means  of  pros¬ 
elytes  and  captives,  strange  women  and  bondmaids,  concu¬ 
bines  and  harlots.  We  read  of  Rahab,  of  Jericho,  an  inn¬ 
keeper,  or  harlot,  or  both,  marrying  Salmon,  one  of  the  chief 
men  in  the  tribe  of  Judah,  and  becoming  the  mother  of 
Boaz,  who  married  Ruth,  a  Moabitish  woman,  the  daughter- 
in-law  of  Naomi,  and  grandmother  of  David,  from  whom 
Christ  was  lineally  descended.  Indeed,  the  Jews  have  al¬ 
ways  been  receiving  foreign  blood  into  their  body.  We 
read  of  Timothy  having  been  a  Greek  by  the  father’s  side, 
and  a  Jew  by  the  mother’s  ;  and  of  his  having  been  brought 
up  a  Jew.  Such  events  are  of  frequent  occurrence.  There 
is  no  real  bar  to  marriages  between  Jews  and  Christians, 
although  circumstances  render  them  difficult.  The  children 
of  such  marriages  sometimes  resemble  the  Jew,  and  some¬ 
times  the  Christian  ;  sometimes  they  cast  their  lot  with 
the  Jews,  in  the  matter  of  religion,  and  sometimes  with  the 
Christians  ;  but  they  generally  follow  the  mother  in  that 
matter.  Such,  however,  is  the  conceit  which  the  Jew  dis¬ 
plays  in  regard  to  his  race,  that  he  is  very  reserved  in 
speaking  about  this  “  mixing  of  the  blood.”  I  once  ad¬ 
dressed  a  string  of  questions  to  a  Christian-Jew  preacher, 
on  this  subject,  but  he  declined  answering  them.  I  am  in¬ 
timate  with  a  family  the  parents  of  which  are  half-blood 
Jews,  all  of  whom  belong  to  the  Jewish  connexion,  and  I 

*  It  is  an  unnecessary  stretch  upon  the  belief  in  the  Scriptures,  to  ask 
consent  to  the  abstract  proposition  that  the  Jews,  while  in  Egypt,  encreased 
from  seventy  souls  to  “  about  six  hundred  thousand  on  foot  that  were  men, 
besides  children,”  at  the  time  of  the  Exodus.  Following  a  pastoral  life,  in 
a  healthy  and  fertile  country,  and  inspired  with  the  prophecy  delivered  to 
Abraham,  as  to  his  numberless  descendants,  the  whole  bent  of  the  mind  of 
the  Jews  was  to  multiply  their  numbers  ;  and  polygamy  and  concubinage 
being  characteristic  of  the  people,  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  that  the 
Jews  encreased  to  the  number  stated.  The  original  emigrants,  doubtless, 
took  with  them  large  establishments  of  bondmen  and  bondwomen,  and 
purchased  others  while  in  Egypt;  and  these  being  circumcised,  according 
to  the  covenant  made  with  Abraham,  would  sooner  or  later  become,  on 
that  account  alone,  part  of  the  nation  ;  and  much  more  so  by  such  amal¬ 
gamation  as  is  set  forth  by  Rachel  and  Leah  giving  their  maids  to  Jacob 
to  have  children  by  them.  Abraham  was,  at  best,  the  representative  head 
of  the  Jewish  nation,  composed,  as  that  was  originally,  of  elements  drawn 
from  the  idolatrous  tribes  surrounding  him  and  his  descendants. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


477 


find  that,  notwithstanding  the  mixture  of  the  blood,  there  is 
as  little  mental  difference  between  them  and  the  other  Jews, 
as  there  is  between  Americans  of  six  descents,  by  both  sides 
of  the  house,  and  Americans  whose  descent,  through  one 
parent,  goes  as  far  back,  while,  through  the  other  parent,  it 
is  from  abroad.  Purity  of  blood,  as  applicable  to  almost 
any  race,  and,  among  others,  to  the  Jewish,  is  a  figment. 
There  are  many  Jews  in  the  United  States,  and,  doubtless, 
in  other  countries,  who  are  not  known  to  other  people  as 
Jews,  either  by  their  appearance  or  their  attendance  at  the 
synagogue.  As  a  general  principle,  no  Jew  will  tell  the 
wrorld  that  he  belongs  to  the  race  ;  he  leaves  that  to  be 
found  out  by  other  people.  Sir  J.  Gardner  Wilkinson  says 
that  the  Jews  of  the  East,  to  this  day,  often  have  red  hair 
and  blue  eyes,  and  are  quite  unlike  their  brethren  in  Europe. 
He  found  the  large  nose  at  Jerusalem  an  invariable  proof 
of  mixture  with  a  Western  family.  It  is  singular,  however, 
how  easy  it  is  to  detect  the  generality  of  Jews  ;  the  nose, 
the  eyes,  or  the  features,  tell  who  they  are,  but  not  always 
so.  What  may  be  termed  a  “  pure  Jew,”  is  when  the  per¬ 
son  has  no  knowledge  of  any  other  blood  being  in  his  veins 
than  Jewish  blood  ;  or  when  his  feelings  are  entirely  Jew¬ 
ish  as  to  nationality,  although  his  ci'eed  may  not  be  very 
strongly  Jewish. 

I  will  now  consider  the  relative  positions  which  the  Jews 
and  Gipsies  occupy  towards  the  rest  of  mankind.  I  readily 
admit  that,  in  their  original  and  wild  state,  the  Gipsies  have 
not  been  of  any  use  to  the  world,  but,  on  the  contrary,  a 
great  annoyance.  Still,  that  cannot  be  said  altogether  ;  for 
the  handy  turn  of  the  Gipsies  in  some  of  the  primitive  me¬ 
chanical  arts,  and  their  dealing  in  various  wares,  have  been, 
in  a  measure,  useful  to  a  certain  part  of  the  rural  population  ; 
and  themselves  the  sources  of  considerable  amusement ;  but, 
taking  everything  into  account,  they  have  been  decidedly 
annoying  to  the  world  generally.  In  their  wild  state,  they 
have  never  been  charged  by  any  one  with  an  outward  con¬ 
tempt  for  religion,  whatever  their  inward  feelings  may  have 
been  for  it  ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  as  always  having  shown 
an  apparent  respect  for  it.  No  one  has  ever  complained  of 
the  Gipsy  scoffing  at  religion,  or  even  for  not  yielding  to  its 
general  truths  ;  what  has  been  said  of  him  is,  that  he  is,  at 
heart,  so  heedless  and  volatile  in  his  disposition,  that  every- 


478 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


thing  in  regard  to  religion  passes  in  at  the  one  ear,  and  goes 
out  at  the  other.  There  are,  doubtless,  Gipsies  who  will  be 
“  unco  godly,”  when  they  can  make  gain  by  it ;  but  it  more 
frequently  happens  that  they  will  assume  such  an  air,  in  the 
presence  of  a  person  of  respectable  appearance,  to  show  him 
that  they  are  really  not  the  “  horrible  vagabonds”  which, 
they  never  doubt,  he  holds  them  to  be.  They  are  then  sure 
to  overdo  their  part.  As  a  general  thing,  they  wish  people 
to  believe  that  “  they  are  not  savages,  but  have  feelings  like 
other  people,”  as  “  Terrible  ”  expressed  it.  This  much  is  cer¬ 
tain,  that  whenever  the  Gipsy  settles,  and  acquires  an  incog¬ 
nito,  we  hear  of  little  or  nothing  of  the  canting  in  ques¬ 
tion.  As  regards  the  question  of  religion,  it  is  very  fortu¬ 
nate  for  the  Gipsy  race  that  they  brought  no  particular  one 
with  them  ;  for,  objectionable  as  they  have  been  held  to  be, 
the  feeling  towards  them  would  have  been  worse,  if  they  had 
had  a  system  of  priestcraft  and  heathen  idolatry  among 
them.  But  this  circumstance  greatly  worries  a  respectable 
Gipsy  ;  he  would  much  rather  have  it  said  that  his  ancestors 
had  some  sort  of  religion,  than  that  they  had  none.  It  is 
generally  understood  that  the  Gipsies  did  not  bring  any  par¬ 
ticular  religion  with  them  ;  still,  the  ceremony  of  sacrificing 
horses  at  divorces,  and,  at  one  time,  at  marriages,  has  a 
strange  and  unaccountable  significance. 

Then,  as  regards  the  general  ways  of  the  Gipsies.  If  we 
consider  them  as  those  of  a  people  who  have  emerged,  or 
are  emerging,  from  a  state  of  barbarism,  how  trifling,  how 
venial  do  they  appear !  Scotch  people  have  suffered,  in 
times  past,  far  more  at  the  hands  of  each  other,  than  ever 
they  knowingly  did  at  the  hands  of  the  Gipsies.  What  was 
the  nature  of  that  system  of  black-mail  which  was  levied  by 
Highland  gentlemen  upon  Southerners  ?  Was  it  anything 
but  robbery  ?  So  common,  so  unavoidable  was  the  payment 
of  black-mail,  that  the  law  had  to  wink  at  it,  nay,  regulate 
it.  But  after  all,  it  was  nothing  but  compounding  for  that 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  stolen.  It  gave  peace 
and  security  to  the  farmer,  and  a  revenue  to  the  Highland 
gentleman,  whom  it  placed  in  the  position  of  a  nominal  pro¬ 
tector,  but  actually  prevented  from  being  a  robber,  in  law  or 
morals  ;  for,  let  the  payment  of  the  black-mail  but  have  been 
refused,  and,  perhaps  the  next  day,  the  Southerner  would 
have  been  ruined  ;  so  that  the  Highland  gentleman  would 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


479 


have  obtained  his  rights,  under  any  circumstances.  For 
Highland  people,  by  a  process  of  reasoning  peculiar  to  a 
people  in  a  barbarous  state,  held,  as  we  have  seen,  that  they 
had  a  right  to  rob  the  Lowlanders,  whenever  it  was  in  their 
power,  and  that  two  hundred  years  after  the  Gipsies  entered 
Scotland. 

Scottish  Gipsies  are  British  subjects,  as  much  as  either 
Highland  or  Lowland  Scots  ;  their  being  of  foreign  origin 
does  not  alter  the  case  ;  and  they  are  entitled  to  have  that 
justice  meted  out  to  them  that  has  been  accorded  to  the  or¬ 
dinary  natives.  They  are  not  a  heaven-born  race,  but  they 
certainly  found  their  way  into  the  country,  as  if  they  had 
dropped  into  it  out  of  the  clouds.  As  a  race,  they  have  that 
much  mystery,  originality,  and  antiquity  about  them,  and 
that  inextinguishable  sensation  of  being  a  branch  of  the 
same  tribe  everywhere,  that  ought  to  cover  a  multitude  of 
failings  connected  with  their  past  history.  Indeed,  what  we 
do  know  of  their  earliest  history  is  not  nearly  so  barbarous 
as  that  of  our  own  ;  for  we  must  contemplate  our  own  an¬ 
cestors,  at  one  time,  as  painted  and  skin-clad  barbarians. 
What  we  do  know,  for  certainty,  of  the  earliest  history  of 
the  Scottish  Gipsies,  is  contained,  more  particularly,  in  the 
Act  of  1540  ;  and  we  would  naturally  say,  that,  for  a  people 
in  a  barbarous  state,  such  is  the  dignity  and  majesty,  with 
all  the  roguishness,  displayed  in  the  conduct  of  the  Gipsies 
of  that  period,  one  could  hardly  have  a  better,  certainly  not 
a  more  romantic,  descent ;  provided  the  person  whose  de¬ 
scent  it  is  is  to  be  found  amid  the  ranks  of  Scots,  with 
talents,  a  character,  and  a  position  equal  to  those  of  others 
around  him.  For  this  reason,  it  must  be  said  of  the  race, 
that  whenever  it  shakes  itself  clear  of  objectionable  habits, 
and  follows  any  kind  of  ordinary  industry,  the  cause  of  every 
prejudice  against  it  is  gone,  or  ought  to  disappear  ;  for  then, 
as  1  have  already  said,  the  Gipsies  became  ordinary  citizens, 
of  the  Gipsy  clan.  It  then  follows,  that  in  passing  a  fair 
judgment  upon  the  Gipsy  race,  we  ought  to  establish  a  prin¬ 
ciple  of  progression,  and  set  our  minds  upon  the  best  speci¬ 
mens  of  it,  as  well  as  the  worst,  and  not  judge  of  it,  solely", 
from  the  poorest,  the  most  ignorant,  or  the  most  barbarous 
part  of  it.* 

*  Tacitus  gives  the  following  glowing  account  of  the  destruction  of  the 
Druids,  in  the  island  of  Anglesey  :  “  On  the  opposite  shore  stood  the  Brit- 


480 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


What  shall  we  say  further  of  the  relative  positions  which 
the  Jews  and  Gipsies  occupy  towards  the  rest  of  the  world  ? 
In  the  first  place,  the  Jews  entered  Europe  a  civilized,  and 
the  Gipsies  a  barbarous,  people  ;  so  that,  in  instituting  any 
comparison  between  them,  we  should  select  Gipsies  occupying 
positions  in  life  similar  to  those  of  the  Jews.  The  settled 
Scottish  Gipsy,  we  find,  appears  to  the  eye  of  the  world  as 
a  Scotchman,  and  nothing  more.  It  is  the  weak  position 
which  the  Gipsy  race  occupies  in  the  world,  as  it  enters  upon 
a  settled  life,  and  engages  in  steady  pursuits,  that  compels  it 
to  assume  an  incognito  ;  for  it  has  nothing  to  appeal  to,  as 
regards  the  past ;  no  history,  except  it  be  acts  of  legislation 
passed  against  the  race.  In  looking  into  a  Dictionary  or  a 
Cyclopedia,  the  Gipsy  finds  his  race  described  as  vagabonds, 
always  as  vagabonds  ;  and  he  may  be  said  never  to  have 
heard  a  good  word  spoken  of  it,  during  the  whole  of  his  life. 
Hence  he  and  his  descendants  “  keep  as  quiet  as  pussy,”  and 
pass  from  the  observation  of  the  world.  Besides  this,  there 
is  no  prominent  feature  connected  with  his  race,  to  bring  it 
before  the  world,  such  as  there  is  with  the  Jewish,  viz.,  his¬ 
tory,  church,  or  literature.  A  history,  the  Gipsy,  as  we  see, 
doubtless  has  ;  but  anything  connected  with  him,  pertaining 
to  the  church  or  literature,  he  holds  as  a  member  of  ordinary 
society.  Still,  it  would  not  be  incorrect  to  speak  of  Gipsy 
literature,  as  the  work  of  a  Gipsy,  acquired  from  the  sources 
common  to  other  men  ;  as  we  would  say  of  the  Jews,  relative 
to  the  literature  which  they  produce  under  similar  circum- 

ons,  closely  embodied,  and  prepared  for  action.  Women  were  seen  rushing 
through  the  ranks  in  wild  disorder  ;  their  apparel  funereal  ;  their  hair 
loose  to  the  wind,  in  their  hands  flaming  torches,  and  their  whole  appear¬ 
ance  resembling  the  frantic  rage  of  the  Furies.  The  Druids  were  ranged 
in  order,  with  hands  uplifted,  invoking  the  gods,  and  pouring  forth  horrible 
imprecations.  The  novelty  of  the  sight  struck  the  Romans  with  awe  and 
terror.  They  stood  in  stupid  amazement,  as  if  their  limbs  were  benumbed, 
riveted  to  one  spot,  a  mark  for  the  enemy.  The  exhortation  of  the  general 
diffused  new  vigour  through  the  ranks,  and  the  men,  by  mutual  reproaches, 
inflamed  each  other  to  deeds  of  valour.  They  felt  the  disgrace  of  yielding 
to  a  troop  of  women,  and  a  band  of  fanatic  priests ;  they  advanced  their 
standards,  and  rushed  on  to  the  attack  with  impetuous  fury.  The  Britons 
perished  in  the  flames  which  they  themselves  had  kindled.  The  island 
fell,  and  a  garrison  was  established  to  retain  it  in  subjection.  The  religious 
groves,  dedicated  to  superstition  and  barbarous  rites,  were  levelled  to  the  ground. 
In  those  recesses,  the  natives  imbrued  their  altars  with  the  blood  of  their  prison¬ 
ers,  and,  in  the  entrails  of  men,  explored  the  will  of  the  gods.” — Murphy’s 
Translation. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


481 


stances.  As  to  the  Gipsy  to  whom  I  have  alluded,  it  may 
be  said  that  it  is  none  of  our  business  whether  he  is  a  Gipsy 
or  not ;  there  is  certainly  no  prejudice  against  him  as  an 
individual,  and  there  can  be  none  as  a  Gipsy,  except  such  as 
people  may  of  their  own  accord  conceive  for  him.  Many  of 
the  Scottish  Gipsies  whom  I  have  met  with  are  civil  enough, 
sensible  enough,  decent  enough,  and  liberal  and  honourable 
enough  in  their  conduct ;  decidedly  well  bred  for  their  po¬ 
sitions  in  life,  and  rather  foolish  and  reckless  with  their 
means,  than  misers  ;  and,  generally  speaking,  what  are  called 
“  good  fellows.”  It  is  no  business  of  mine  to  ask  them,  how 
long  it  is  since  their  ancestors  left  the  tent,  or,  indeed,  if 
they  even  know  when  that  occurred  ;  and  still  less,  if  they 
know  when  any  of  them  ever  did  anything  that  was  contrary 
to  law.  Still,  one  feels  a  little  irksome  in  such  a  Gipsy’s 
company,  until  the  Gipsy  question  has  been  fairly  brought 
before  the  world,  and  the  point  settled,  that  a  Gipsy  may  be 
a  gentleman,  and  that  no  disparagement  is  necessarily  con¬ 
nected  with  the  name,  considered  in  itself.  Such  Scottish 
Gipsies  as  I  have  mentioned  arc  decidedly  smart,  and,  Yan¬ 
kee-like,  more  adaptable  in  turning  their  hands  to  various 
employments,  than  the  common  natives  ;  and  are  a  fair  credit 
to  the  country  they  come  from,  and  absolutely  a  greater  than 
many  of  the  native  Scotch  that  are  to  be  met  with  in  the 
New  World.  Let  the  name  of  Gipsy  be  as  much  respected, 
in  Scotland,  as  it  is  now  despised,  and  the  community  would 
stare  to  see  the  civilized  Gipsies  make  their  appearance  ; 
they  would  come  buzzing  out,  like  bees,  emerging  even  from 
places  where  a  person,  not  in  the  secret,  never  would  have 
dreamt  of. 

If  we  consider,  in  a  fair  and  philosophical  manner,  the 
origin  of  these  people,  we  will  find  many  excuses  for  the 
position  which  their  ancestors  have  occupied.  They  were  a 
tribe  of  men  wandering  upon  the  face  of  the  earth,  over 
which  they  have  spread,  as  one  wave  follows  and  urges  on 
another.  Those  that  appeared  in  Europe  seem  to  have  been 
impelled,  in  their  migration,  by  the  same  irresistible  im¬ 
pulse  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  circumstances  connected  with 
their  coming  in  contact  with  the  people  whose  territories 
they  had  invaded.  No  one  generation  could  be  responsible 
for  the  position  in  which  it  found  itself  placed.  In  the  case 
of  John  Faw  and  his  company,  we  find  that,  being  on  the 


482 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


face  of  the  earth,  they  had  to  go  somewhere,  and  invent 
some  sort  of  excuse,  to  secure  a  toleration  ;  and  the  world 
was  bound  to  yield  them  a  subsistence,  of  some  kind,  and  in 
some  way  obtained.  As  a  wandering,  barbarous,  tented 
tribe,  with  habits  peculiar  to  itself,  and  inseparable  from  its 
very  nature,  great  allowance  ought  to  be  made  for  the  time 
necessary  for  its  gradual  absorption  into  settled  society. 
That  could  only  be  the  result  of  generations,  even  if  the  race 
had  not  been  treated  so  harshly  as  it  has  been,  or  had  such 
a  prejudice  displayed  against  it.  The  difficulties  which  a 
Gipsy  has  to  encounter  in  leaving  the  tent  are  great,  for  he 
has  been  born  in  that  state,  and  been  reared  in  it.  To 
leave  his  tent  forever,  and  settle  in  a  town,  is  a  greater 
trial  to  the  innate  feelings  of  his  nature,  than  would  be  the 
change  from  highly  polished  metropolitan  life  to  a  state 
of  solitude,  in  a  society  away  from  everything  that  had 
hitherto  made  existence  bearable.  But  the  Gipsy  will  very 
readily  leave  his  tent,  temporarily,  to  visit  a  town,  if  it  is  to 
make  money.  It  is  astonishing  how  strong  the  circum¬ 
stances  are  which  bind  him  to  his  tent ;  even  his  pride  and 
prejudices  in  being  a  “  wandering  Egyptian,”  will,  if  it  is 
possible  to  live  by  the  tent,  bind  him  to  it.  Then,  there  is 
the  prejudice  of  the  world — the  objection  to  receive  him  into 
any  community,  and  his  children  into  any  school — that  com¬ 
monly  prevails,  and  which  compels  him  to  steal  into  settled 
life.  It  has  always  been  so  with  the  Gipsy  race.  Gipsies 
brought  up  in  the  tent  have  the  same  difficulties  to  encounter 
in  leaving  it  to-day,  that  others  had  centuries  ago.  But, 
notwithstanding  all  that,  they  are  always  keeping  moving 
out  of  the  tent,  and  becoming  settled  and  civilized. 

Tented  Gipsies  will  naturally  “  take  bits  o’  things  ;”  many 
of  them  would  think  one  simple  if  he  thought  they  would 
not  do  it ;  some  of  them  would  even  be  insulted  if  he  said 
they  did  not  do  it.  After  they  leave  the  tent,  and  com¬ 
mence  “  tramping,”  they  (I  do  not  say  all  of  them)  will  still 
“  take  bits  o’  things.”  From  this  stage  of  their  history,  they 
keep  gradually  dropping  into  unexceptionable  habits  ;  and 
particularly  so  if  they  receive  education.  But  we  can  very 
readily  believe  that,  independent  of  every  circumstance,  there 
will  be  Gipsies  who,  in  a  great  measure,  always  will  be 
rogues.  The  law  of  necessity  exercises  a  great  influence 
over  the  destiny  of  the  Gipsy  race  ;  their  natural  encrease 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


483 


is  such,  that,  as  they  progress  and  develop,  they  are  always 
pushing  others  out  of  the  sphere  which  those  further  ad¬ 
vanced  occupy  ;  so  that  it  would  not  pay  for  all  Gipsies  to 
be  rogues.  There  is,  therefore,  no  alternative  left  to  the 
Gipsy  but  to  earn  his  bread  like  other  men.  If  every  Gipsy 
actually  “helped  himself”  to  whatever  he  stood  in  need  of, 
it  could  hardly  be  said  that  the  ordinary  inhabitants  would 
have  anything  that  they  could  really  call  their  own.  Not¬ 
withstanding  the  manner  how  the  Gipsies  progress,  or  the 
origin  from  which  they  spring,  it  is  quite  sufficient  for  me  to 
hold  the  race  in  respect,  when  I  find  them  personally  worthy 
of  it. 

As  a  Scotchman,  as  a  citizen  of  the  world,  whether  should 
my  sympathies  lay  more  with  the  Gipsies  than  with  the 
Jews?  With  the  Gipsies,  unquestionably.  For,  a  race, 
emerging  from  a  state  of  barbarism,  and  struggling  upwards 
to  civilization,  surrounded  by  so  many  difficulties,  as  is  the 
Gipsy,  is  entitled  to  a  world  of  charity  and  encouragement. 
Of  the  Jews,  who,  though  blessed  with  the  most  exalted 
privileges,  yet  allowed  themselves  to  be  reduced  to  their 
present  fallen  and  degraded  estate,  it  may  be  said  : 
“  Ephraim  is  joined  to  his  idols  ;  let  him  alone.”  The 
Gipsies  are,  and  have  always  been,  a  rising  people,  although 
the  world  may  be  said  to  have  known  little  of  them  hitherto. 
The  Gipsy,  as  he  emerges  from  his  wild  state,  makes  ample 
amends  for  his  original  offensiveness,  by  hiding  everything 
relative  to  his  being  a  Gipsy  from  his  neighbours  around 
him.  In  approaching  one  of  this  class,  we  should  be  careful 
not  to  express  that  prejudice  for  him  as  a  Gipsy,  which  we 
might  have  for  him  as  a  man  ;  for  it  is  natural  enough  to 
feel  a  dislike  for  many  people  whom  we  meet  with,  and 
which,  if  the  people  were  Gipsies,  we  might  insensibly  allow 
to  fall  upon  them,  on  account  of  tribe  alone  ;  so  difficult  is 
it  to  shake  one’s  self  clear  of  the  prejudice  of  caste  towards 
the  Gipsy  name.  The  Gipsy  has  naturally  a  happy  disposi¬ 
tion,  which  circumstances  cannot  destroy,  however  much 
they  may  be  calculated  to  sour  it.  In  their  original  state, 
they  are,  what  Grellmann  says  of  them,  “  always  merry  and 
blithe  not  apt  to  be  surly  dogs,  unless  made  such  ;  and 
are  capable  of  considerable  attachment,  when  treated  civilly 
and  kindly,  without  any  attempt  being  made  to  commiserate 
them,  and  after  an  acquaintance  has  been  fairly  established 


4S4 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


with  them.  But,  what  are  properly  called  their  affections 
must,  iu  the  position  which  they  occupy,  always  remain  Avith 
their  tribe.  As  for  the  other  part  of  the  race — those  whose 
habits  arc  unexceptionable — it  is  for  us  to  convince  them 
that  no  prejudice  is  entertained  for  them  on  account  of  their 
being  Gipsies  ;  but  that  it  would  rather  be  pleasing  and  in¬ 
teresting  for  us  to  know  something  of  them  as  Gipsies,  that 
is,  about  their  feelings  as  Gipsies,  and  hear  them  talk  some 
of  this  language  which  they  have,  or  are  supposed  to  have. 

But  how  different  is  the  position  which  the  Jews  occupy 
towards  the  rest  of  the  world  !  They  are,  certainly,  quiet 
and  inoffensive  enough  as  individuals,  or  as  a  community  ; 
whence,  then,  arises  the  dislike  which  most  people  have  for 
them  ?  The  Gipsies  may  be  said  to  be,  in  a  sense,  strangers 
amongst  us,  because  they  have  never  been  acknowledged  by 
us  ;  but  the  Jews  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  strangers  under 
any  circumstances,  and,  more  or  less,  look  to  entering  Pales¬ 
tine  at  some  day,  it  may  be  this  year,  or  the  following.  If 
a  Christian  asks  :  “  Who  are  the  Jews,  and  what  do  they 
here  ?”  the  reply  is  very  plain  :  “  They  are  rebels  against 
the  Majesty  of  Heaven,  and  outcasts  from  His  presence.” 
They  are  certainly  entitled  to  every  privilege,  social  and 
political,  which  other  citizens  enjoy  ;  they  have  a  perfect 
right  to  follow  their  own  religion  ;  but  other  people  have 
an  equal  right  to  express  their  opinion  in  regard  to  it  and 
them. 

The  Jew  is  an  enigma  to  the  world,  unless  looked  at 
through  the  light  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments.  In 
studying  the  history  of  the  Jews,  we  will  find  very  little 
about  them,  as  a  nation,  that  is  interesting,  to  the  extent  of 
securing  our  affections,  whatever  may  be  said  of  some  of  the 
members  of  it.  What  appears  attractive,  and,  I  may  say, 
of  personal  importance,  to  the  Christian,  in  their  history,  is, 
not  what  they  have  been  or  done,  but  what  has  been  done 
for  them  by  God.  “  What  more  could  I  have  done  for  my 
vine  than  I  have  done  ?”  And  “  Which  of  the  prophets  have 
they  not  persecuted?”  “Wherefore,  behold!  I  send  unto 
you  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes  ;  and  some  of  them 
ye  shall  kill  and  crucify  ;  and  some  of  them  shall  ye  scourge 
iu  your  synagogues,  and  persecute  from  city  to  city.”  And 
thus  it  always  was.  “Elias  saith  of  them,  Lord,  they  have 
killed  thy  prophets,  and  digged  down  thine  altars,  and  I  am 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


485 


left  alone,  and  they  seek  my  life.”  Indeed,  the  whole  his¬ 
tory  of  the  Jews  has  given  to  infidels  such  occasion  to  rail 
at  revelation,  as  has  caused  no  little  annoyance  to  Chris¬ 
tians.  What  concerns  the  Christian  in  the  Jewish  history 
is  more  particularly  that  which  refers  to  the  ways  of  God, 
in  preserving  to  Himself,  in  every  generation,  a  seed  who 
did  not  how  the  knee  to  Baal,  till  the  appearance  of  Him  in 
whom  all  the  nations  of  mankind  were  to  be  blessed.  Be¬ 
yond  this,  we  find  that  the  Jews,  as  a  nation,  have  been  the 
most  rebellious,  still-necked,  perverse,  ungrateful,  and  fac¬ 
tious,  of  any  recorded  in  history.  How  different  from  what 
might  have  been  expected  of  them  !  Viewing  the  history 
of  the  Jews  in  this  aspect,  the  mind  even  finds  a  relief  in 
turning  to  profane  history  ;  but  viewing  their  writings  as 
the  records  of  the  dispensations  of  God  to  mankind,  and 
they  are  worthy  of  universal  reverence ;  although  the 
most  interesting  part  of  them  is,  perhaps,  that  which  reaches 
to  the  settlement  of  the  race  in  Palestine.  And  to  sum  up, 
to  complete,  and  crown  the  history  of  this  singularly  privi¬ 
leged  people,  previous  to  the  destruction  of  their  city  and 
temple,  and  their  dispersion  among  the  nations,  we  find  that 
the  prophet  whom  Moses  foretold  them  would  be  raised  up 
to  them,  they  wickedly  crucified  and  slew  ;  “  delivering  up 
and  denying  him  in  the  presence  of  Pilate,  when  he  was 
determined  to  let  him  go.  But  they  denied  the  Holy  One 
and  the  Just,  and  desired  a  murderer  to  be  granted  unto 
them;  and  killed  the  Prince  of  Life,  whom  God  hath  raised 
from  the  dead.”  And  Pilate  “  washed  his  hands  before  the 
multitude,  saying,  1  am  innocent  of  the  blood  of  this  just 
person  :  see  ye  to  it.  Then  answered  all  the  people,  and 
said,  His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children.”  And  his  blood 
is  on  their  children  at  the  present  day  ;  for  while  he  is 
acknowledged  by  three  hundred  millions  of  mankind  as 
their  Lord  and  Master,  the  Jew  teaches  his  children  to 
regard  him  as  an  impostor,  and  spit  at  the  very  mention  of 
his  name.  How  great  must  be  the  infatuation  of  the  poor 
Jew,  how  dark  the  mind,  how  thick  the  veil  that  hangs 
over  his  heart,  how  terrible  the  curse  that  rests  upon  his 
head!  But  the  Jew  is  to  be  pitied,  not  distressed;  he 
should  be  personally  treated,  in  ordinary  life,  as  his  conduct 
merits. 

The  manner  in  which  the  Jew  treats  the  claims  of  Jesus 


486 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Christ  disqualifies  him  for  receiving  the  respect  of  the 
Christian.  He  knows  well  that  Christianity  is  no  produc¬ 
tion  of  any  Gentile,  but  an  emanation  from  people  of  his 
own  nation.  And  so  conceited  is  the  Jew  in  this  respect, 
that  he  will  say  :  “  Jesus  Christ  and  his  apostles  were  Jews  : 
see  what  Jews  have  done !”  He  regards  the  existence 
of  his  race  as  a  miracle,  yet  looks  with  indifference  upon 
the  history  and  results  of  Christianity.  People  have  often 
wondered  that  Jews,  as  Jews,  have  written  so  little  oh  the 
inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament ;  but  what  else  could  have 
been  expected  of  them?  How  could  they  throw  themselves 
prominently  forward,  in  urging  the  claims  of  Moses,  who 
was  “faithful  in  all  his  house  as  a  servant,”  and  totally 
ignore  those  of  Christ,  who  was  “  a  son  over  his  own 
house  ?”  So  far  from  even  entertaining  the  claims  of  the 
latter,  the  Jew  proper  has  the  most  bitter  hatred  for  the 
very  mention  of  his  name  ;  he  would  almost,  if  he  dared, 
tear  out  part  of  his  Scriptures,  in  which  the  Messiah  is, 
alluded  to.  Does  he  take  the  trouble  to  give  the  claims  of 
Christianity  the  slightest  consideration?  He  will  spit  at 
it,  but  it  is  into  his  handkerchief ;  so  much  does  he  feel  tied 
up  in  the  position  which  he  occupies  in  the  world.  He 
cannot  say  that  he  respects,  or  can  respect,  Christianity, 
whatever  he  may  think  of  its  morals  ;  for,  as  a  Jew,  he 
must,  and  does,  regard  it  as  an  imposture,  and  blindly  so 
regards  it.  But  all  Jews  are  not  of  this  description  ;  for 
there  are  many  of  them  who  believe  little  in  Moses  or  any 
other,  or  give  themselves  the  least  trouble  about  such  mat¬ 
ters. 

The  position  which  Jews  occupy  among  Christians  is 
that  which  they  occupy  among  people  of  a  different  faith. 
They  become  obnoxious  to  people  everywhere  ;  for  that 
which  is  so  foreign  in  its  origin,  so  exclusive  in  its  habits 
and  relations,  and  so  conceited  and  antagonistic  in  its 
creed,  will  always  be  so,  go  where  it  may.  Besides,  they 
will  not  even  cat  what  others  have  slain  ;  and  hold  other 
people  as  impure.  The  very  conservative  nature  of  their 
creed  is,  to  a  certain  extent,  against  them  ;  were  it  aggres¬ 
sive,  like  the  Christian’s,  with  a  genius  to  embrace  all 
within  its  fold,  it  would  not  stir  up,  or  permanently  retain, 
the  same  ill-will  toward  the  people  who  profess  it ;  for 
being  of  that  nature  which  retires  into  the  corner  of  selfish 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


487 


exclusiveness,  people  will  naturally  take  a  greater  objection 
to  them.  Then,  the  keen,  money-making,  and  accumulating 
habits  of  the  Jews,  make  them  appear  selfish  to  those  around 
them  ;  while  the  greediness,  and  utter  want  of  principle, 
that  characterize  some  of  them,  have  given  a  bad  reputation 
to  the  whole  body,  however  unjustly  it  is  applied  to  them 
as  a  race. 

The  circumstances  attending  the  Jews’  entry  into  any 
country,  to-day,  are  substantially  what  they  were  before  the 
advent  of  Christ ;  centuries  before  which  era,  they  were 
scattered,  in  great  numbers,  over  most  part  of  the  world  ; 
having  synagogues,  and  visiting,  or  looking  to,  Jerusalem, 
as  their  home,  as  Catholics,  in  the  matter  of  religion,  have 
looked  to  Rome.  In  going  abroad,  Jews  would  as  little 
contemplate  forsaking  their  own  religion,  and  worshipping 
the  gods  of  the  heathen,  as  do  Christians,  to-day,  in 
Oriental  countries  ;  for  they  were  as  thoroughly  persuaded 
that  their  religion  was  divine,  and  all  others  the  inventions 
of  man,  as  are  Christians  of  theirs.  Then,  it  was  a  religion 
exclusively  Jewish,  that  is,  the  people  following  it  were, 
with  rare  exceptions,  exclusively  Jews  by  nation.  The 
ill-will  which  all  these  circumstances,  and  the  very  appear¬ 
ance  of  the  people  themselves,  have  raised  against  the  Jews, 
and  the  persecutions,  of  various  kinds,  which  have  univer¬ 
sally  followed,  have  widened  the  separation  between  them 
and  other  people,  which  the  genius  of  their  religion  made  so 
imperative,  and  their  feelings  of  nationality — nay,  family — 
so  exclusive.  Before  the  dispersion,  Palestine  was  their 
home ;  after  the  dispersion,  the  position  and  circumstances 
of  those  abroad  at  the  time  underwent  no  change  ;  they 
would  merely  contemplate  their  nation  in  a  new  aspect — 
that  of  exiles,  and  consider  themselves,  for  the  time  being, 
at  home  wherever  they  happened  to  be.  Those  that  were 
scattered  abroad,  by  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem,  would, 
in  their  persons,  confirm  the  convictions  of  the  others,  and 
reconcile  them  to  the  idea  that  the  Jewish  nation,  as  such, 
was  abroad  on  the  face  of  the  earth  ;  and  each  generation 
of  the  race  would  entertain  the  same  sentiments.  After  this, 
as  before  it,  it  can  scarcely  be  said  that  the  Jews  have  ever 
been  tolerated  ;  if  not  actually  persecuted,  they  have,  at 
least,  always  been  disliked,  or  despised.  The  whole  nation 
having  been  scattered  abroad,  with  everything  pertaining 


488 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


to  them  as  a  nation,  excepting  the  temple,  the  high-priest¬ 
hood,  and  the  sacrifices,  with  such  an  ancient  history,  and 
so  unequivocally  divine  a  religion,  so  distinct  from,  and  ob¬ 
noxious  to,  those  of  other  nations,  it  is  no  wonder  that  they, 
the  common  descendants  of  Abraham  and  Sarah,  should 
have  ever  since  remained  a  distinct  people  in  the  world  ;  as 
all  the  circumstances  surrounding  them  have  universallv 
remained  the  same  till  to-day. 

A  Jew  of  to-day  has  a  much  greater  aversion  to  forsake 
the  Jewish  community  than  any  other  man  has  to  renounce 
his  country  ;  and  his  associations  of  nationality  are  mani¬ 
fested  wherever  a  Jewish  society  is  to  be  found,  or  wherever 
he  can  meet  with  another  Jew.  This  is  the  view  which  he 
takes  of  his  race,  as  something  distinct  from  his  religion  ; 
for  he  contemplates  himself  as  being  of  that  people — of  the 
same  blood,  features,  and  feelings,  all  children  of  Abraham 
and  Sarah — that  are  to  be  found  everywhere  ;  that  part  of  it 
to  which  he  has  an  aversion  being  only  such  as  apostatize 
from  his  religion,  and  more  particularly  such  as  embrace 
the  Christian  faith.  In  speaking  of  Jews,  we  are  too  apt 
to  confine  our  ideas  exclusively  to  a  creed,  forgetting  that 
Jews  are  a  race  ;  and  that  Christian  Jews  are  Jews  as  well 
as  Jewish  Jews.  Were  it  possible  to  bring  about  a  refor¬ 
mation  among  the  Jews,  by  which  synagogues  would  em¬ 
brace  the  Christian  faith,  we  would  see  Jewish  Christian 
churches  ;  the  only  difference  being,  that  they  would  believe 
in  Him  whom  their  fathers  pierced,  and  lay  aside  only  such 
of  the  ceremonies  of  Moses  as  the  Gospel  had  abrogated. 
If  a  movement  of  that  kind  were  once  fairly  afoot,  by  which 
was  presented  to  the  Jew,  his  people  as  a  community,  how¬ 
ever  small  it  might  be,  there  would  be  a  great  chance  of 
his  becoming  a  Christian,  in  one  sense  or  other :  he  could 
then  assume  the  position  of  a  protesting  Jew,  holding  the 
rest  of  his  countrymen  in  error ;  and  his  own  Christian- 
Jewish  community  as  representing  his  race,  as  it  ought  to 
exist. 

At  present,  the  few  Christian  Jews  find  no  others  of  their 
race  with  whom  to  form  associations  as  a  community ;  so 
that,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  they  feel  as  if  they  were  a 
sort  of  outcasts,  despised  and  hated  by  those  of  their  own 
race,  and  separated  from  the  other  inhabitants  by  a  natural 
law,  over  which  neither  have  any  control,  however  much 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES.  489 

they  may  associate  with,  and  respect,  eacli  other.  It  re¬ 
quires  a  very  powerful  moral  influence  to  constrain  a  Jew  in 
embracing  the  Christian  faith — almost  nothing  short  of 
divine  grace  ;  and  sometimes  a  very  powerful  immoral  one 
in  professing  it — that  which  peculiarly  characterizes  Jews — 
the  love  of  money.  Were  a  community  of  Christian  Jews 
firmly  established,  among  whom  were  observed  every  tittle 
of  the  Jewish  ceremonial,  excepting  such  as  the  dispensation 
of  Christ  had  positively  abolished  ;  or  even  observing  most 
of  that,  (circumcision,  for  example,)  as  merely  characteristic 
of  a  people,  without  attaching  to  it  the  meaning  of  a  service 
recommending  themselves,  in  any  way,  to  the  mercy  of  God  ; 
and  many  Jews  would  doubtless  join  such  a  society.  They 
could  believe  in  Christ  as  their  Messiah — as  their  prophet, 
priest,  and  king  ;  receive  baptism  in  His  name  ;  and  depend 
on  Him  for  a  place  of  happiness  in  a  future  state  of  existence. 
To  such,  the  injunction,  as  declared  by  St.  Paul,  is  :  “  If 
thou  shalt  confess  with  thy  mouth  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  shalt 
believe  in  thine  heart  that  God  hath  raised  him  from  the 
dead,  thou  shalt  be  saved.”  (Romans  x.  9.)  And  when  they 
contemplate  death,  they  might  lay  their  heads  down  in 
peace,  with  the  further  assurance,  as  also  declared  by  St. 
Paul :  “  For  if  we  believe  that  Jesus  died  and  rose  again, 
even  so  them  also  which  sleep  in  Jesus  will  God  bring  with 
him.”  (I  Thess.  iv.  14.)  This  is  the  kind  of  Messiah  which 
the  Jew  should  contemplate,  and  seek  after.  He  will  find 
his  conception  and  birth  more  particularly  recorded  in  the 
two  first,  and  his  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension,  more 
fully  detailed  in  the  two  last,  chapters  of  the  Gospel  accord¬ 
ing  to  St.  Luke.  A  person  would  naturally  think  that  a 
Jew  would  have  the  natural  curiosity  to  read  this  wonderful 
book  called  the  “  New  Testament since,  at  its  very  lowest 
estimate,  it  is,  with  the  exception  of  the  writings  of  St. 
Luke,  altogether  a  production  of  people  of  his  own  nation. 
Among  the  Jews,  there  are  not  a  few  who  believe  in  Christ, 
yet,  more  or  less,  appear  at  the  synagogue.  They  have  no 
objections  to  become  “  spectacles  to  angels ;”  but  they  are 
not  willing  to  make  themselves  such  to  men,  by  placing 
themselves  in  that  isolated  position  which  a  public  profes¬ 
sion  of  Christianity  would  necessarily  lead  to.  But,  all 
things  considered,  one  is  rather  apt  to  fall  into  Utopian 
ideas  in  speaking  of  the  conversion  of  Jews,  as  a  body,  or 
21* 


490 


DISQUISITION  ON  TILE  GIPSIES. 


even  as  individuals,  unless  the  grace  of  God,  in  an  especial 
degree,  accompanies  the  means  to  that  end. 

It  is  no  elevated  regard  for  the  laws  of  Moses,  or  any- 
exalted  sense  of  the  principles  contained  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  that  leads  a  Jew  to  lend  a  deaf  ear  to  the  claims  of 
Christianity  ;  for  his  respect  for  them  has  always  been  in¬ 
different,  even  contemptible,  enough.  Indeed,  the  Talmud, 
which  is  the  Jew’s  gospel,  may  be  characterized  as  being,  in 
a  very  great  part,  a  tissue  of  that  which  is  silly  and  puerile, 
obscene  and  blasphemous.  It  is  with  the  Jew  now,  as  it  was 
at  the  advent  of  Christ.  “  They  have  paid  tithe  of  mint, 
and  anise,  and  cummin,  and  omitted  the  weightier  matters 
of  the  law — -judgment,  mercy,  and  faith.”  “  Laying  aside 
the  commandment  of  God,  they  have  held  the  tradition  of 
men,  as  the  washing  of  pots  and  cups,  and  many  other  such¬ 
like  things;”  “making  the  word  of  God  of  none  effect 
through  their  traditions  which  they  have  delivered.”  “  Full 
well  have  they  rejected  the  commandments  of  God,  that  they 
might  keep  their  own  traditions.”  “  In  vain  do  they  wor¬ 
ship  me,  teaching  for  doctrines  the  commandments  of  men.’’ 
The  main  prop  of  a  Jew  for  remaining  a  Jew,  in  regard  to 
religion,  rests  much  more  upon  the  wonderful  phenomena 
connected  with  the  history  of  his  nation — its  antiquity,  its 
associations,  its  universality’,  and  the  length  of  time  which  it 
has  existed,  since  its  dispersion,  distinct  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  so  unique,  (as  he  imagines,)  that  he  at  once  con¬ 
cludes  it  must  have  the  special  approbation  of  God  for  the 
position  which  it  occupies  ;  which  is  very  true,  although  it 
proceeds  from  a  different  motive  than  that  which  the  Jew  so 
vainly  imagines.  The  'Jew  imagines  that  God  approves  of 
his  conduct,  in  his  stubborn  rebellion  to  the  claims  of 
Christianity,  because  he  finds  his  race  existing  so  distinct 
from  the  rest  of  the  world  ;  whereas,  if  he  studies  his  own 
Scriptures,  he  will  see  that  the  condition  of  his  race  is  the 
punishment  due  to  its  rebellion.  Who  knows  but  that  the 
mark  which  is  to  be  found  upon  the  Jew  answers,  in  a  sense, 
the  purpose  of  that  which  every  one  found  upon  Cain  ?  Did 
not  his  ancestors  call  a  solemn  imprecation  upon  his  head, 
when  they  compelled  Pilate  to  crucify  the  “just  person,” 
when  he  was  determined  to  let  him  go  ;  with  no  other  ex¬ 
cuse  than,  “  His  blood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  children  ?”  Will 
any  genuine  Jew  repudiate  the  conduct  of  his  ancestors,  and 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


491 


say  that  Christ  was  not  an  impostor,  that  he  was  not  a 
blasphemer,  and  that,  consequently,  he  did  not  deserve,  oy 
the  law  of  his  nation,  to  be  put  to  death  ? 

The  history  of  the  Jews  acts  as  a  spell  upon  the  unfor¬ 
tunate  Jew,  and  proves  the  greatest  bar  to  his  conversion 
to  Christianity.  He  vainly  imagines  that  his  race  stands 
out  from  among  all  the  races  of  mankind,  by  a  miracle, 
wrought  for  that  purpose,  and  with  the  special  approbation 
of  God  upon  it,  for  adhering  to  its  religion  ;  and  that,  there¬ 
fore,  Christianity  is  a  delusion.  But  we  must  break  this 
spell  that  enchants  the  Jew,  and  “  provoke  him  to  jealousy 
by  them  that  are  no  people.”  And  who  are  this  people  ? 
The  Gipsies?  Yes,  the  Gipsies  !  For  they  are  numerous, 
though  not  as  numerous,  and  ancient,  though  not  as  ancient,  as 
the  Jews.* 

As  to  the  Gipsy  population,  scattered  over  the  world,  I 
think  that  the  intelligent  reader  will  agree  with  me,  after 
all  that  has  been  said,  in  estimating  it  as  very  large.  There 
seems  no  reason  for  thinking  that  the  Gipsies  suflered  so 
greatly,  by  the  laws  passed  against  them,  as  people  have 
imagined  ;  for  the  cunning  of  the  Gipsy,  and  the  wild,  or 
partly  uncultivated,  face  of  all  the  countries  of  Europe 
would  afford  him  many  facilities  to  evade  the  laws  passed 
against  him.  We  have  already  seen  what  continental 
writers  have  said  of  the  race,  relative  to  the  laws  passed 
against  it :  “  But,  instead  of  passing  the  boundaries,  they 
only  slunk  into  hiding-  places,  and,  shortly  after,  appeared  in 
as  great  numbers  as  before.”  And  this  seems  to  have  been 
invariably  the  case  over  the  whole  of  Europe.  Mr.  Borrow, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  speaks  of  every  Spanish  monarch, 
on  succeeding  to  the  crown,  passing  laws  against  the  Gipsies. 
If  former  laws  were  put  in  force,  there  would  be  no  occa¬ 
sion  for  making  so  many  new  ones  ;  the  very  fact  of  so  many 
laws  having  been  passed  against  the  Gipsy  race,  in  Spain,  is 

*  It  would  almost  seem  that  the  Gipsies  are  the  people  mentioned  in  Deut. 
xxxii.  21,  and  Rom.  x.  19,  where  it  is  said:  “I  will  provoke  you,  (the 
Jews.)  to  jealousy,  by  them  that  are  no  people,  and  by  a  foolish  nation  I 
will  anger  you.”  For  the  history  of  the  Gipsy  nation  thoroughly  bur¬ 
lesques  that  of  the  Jews.  But  the  Jews  will  be  very  apt  to  ignore  the  ex¬ 
istence  of  the  present  work,  should  the  rest  of  the  world  allow  them  to  do 
it.  Yet,  excepting  the  Gipsies  themselves,  none  are  so  capable  of  under¬ 
standing  this  subject  as  thi  Jews,  there  being  so  much  in  it  that  is  applica¬ 
ble  to  themselves. 


492 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


sufficient  proof  of  each  individual  law  never  having  been 
put  to  much  execution,  but  rather,  as  has  already  been  said, 
(page  394,)  of  its  having  been  customary  for  every  king  of 
Spain  to  issue  such  against  them.  It  does  not  appear  that 
any  force  was  employed  to  hunt  the  Gipsies  out  of  the 
country,  but  that  matters  were  left  to  the  ordinary  local 
authorities,  whom  the  tribe  would,  in  many  instances,  manage 
to  render  passive,  or  beyond  whose  jurisdiction  they  would 
remove  for  the  time  being.  The  laws  passed  against  the 
nobility  and  commonalty  of  Spain,  for  protecting  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  (page  114,)  is  a  very  instructive  commentary  on 
those  for  the  extermination  of  the  body  itself.  But  the  case 
most  in  point  is  in  the  Scottish  laws  passed  against  the 
Gipsies.  Upon  the  passing  of  the  Act  of  James  YI.,  in 
1609,  we  find  that  the  Gipsies  “dispersed  themselves  in 
certain  secret  and  obscure  places  of  the  country”  ;  and  that, 
when  the  storm  was  blown  over,  they  “  began  to  take  new 
breath  and  courage,  and  unite  themselves  in  infamous  com¬ 
panies  and  societies,  under  commanders”  (page  114).  The 
extreme  bitterness  displayed  in  Scots  acts  of  parliament 
against  the  best  classes  of  the  population,  for  protecting 
and  entertaining  the  tribe,  and,  consequently,  rendering  the 
other  acts  nugatory,  has  a  very  important  bearing  upon  the 
subject.  We  find  that  the  Gipsies  wandered  up  and  down 
France  for  a  hundred  years,  unmolested  ;  and  that,  so 
numerous  had  they  become,  that,  in  1545,  the  King  of 
France  entertained  the  idea  of  embodying  four  thousand 
of  them,  to  act  as  pioneers  in  taking  Boulogne,  then  in  pos¬ 
session  of  England.  The  last  notice  which  we  have  of  the 
French  Gipsies  was  that  made  by  Grellmann,  when  he  says  : 
“  In  France,  before  the  Revolution,  there  were  but  few,  for 
the  obvious  reason,  that  every  Gipsy  who  could  be  appre¬ 
hended,  fell  a  sacrifice  to  the  police.”  Grellmann,  however, 
had  not  studied  the  subject  sufficiently  deep  to  account  for 
the  destiny  of  the  race.  If  they  were  so  very  numerous  in 
France,  in  1545,  the  natural  encrease,  in  whatever  position 
in  life  it  might  be,  must  have  been  very  great  during  the 
following  235  years.  I  have  learned,  from  the  best  of 
authority,  that  there  are  many  Gipsies  in  Flanders.*  If  the 

*  This  information  I  obtained  from  some  English  Gipsies.  Thereafter, 
the  title  of  the  following  work  came  under  jny  notice  :  “  Historical  Re¬ 
searches  Respecting  the  Sojourn  of  the  Heathens,  or  Egyptians,  in  the 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


493 


Gipsies  in  England  were  estimated  at  above  ten  thousand, 
during  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  how 
many  may  they  not  be  now,  including  those  of  every  kind  of 
mixture  of  blood,  character,  and  position  in  life  ?  If  there 
is  one  Gipsy  in  the  British  Isles,  there  cannot  be  less  than  a 
quarter  of  a  million,  and,  possibly,  as  many  as  six  hundred 
thousand  ;  and,  instead  of  there  being  sixty  thousand  in 
Spain,  and  constantly  decreasing ,  (< disappearing  is  the  right 
word,)  we  may  safely  estimate  them  at  three  hundred  thou¬ 
sand.  The  reader  has  already  been  informed  of  what  be¬ 
comes  of  all  the  Gipsies.  As  a  case  in  point,  I  may  ask, 
who  would  have  imagined  that  there  was  such  a  thing  in 
Edinburgh  as  a  factory,  filled,  not  merely  with  Gipsies,  but 
with  Irish  Gipsies  ?  The  owner  of  the  establishment  was 
doubtless  a  Gipsy  ;  for  how  did  so  many  Gipsies  come  to 
work  in  it,  or  how  did  he  happen  to  know  that  his  workmen 
were  all  Gipsies,  or  that  even  one  of  them  was  a  Gipsy  ? 

Even  to  take  Grellmann’s  estimate  of  the  Gipsies  in  Eu¬ 
rope,  at  from  700,000  to  800,000,  and  the  race  must  be  very 
numerous  to-day.  Since  his  time,  the  Negroes  in  the  United 
States  have  encreased  from  500,000  to  4,000,000,  and  this 
much  is  certain,  that  Gipsies  are,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  as 
prolific  as  Negroes.  The  encrease  in  both  includes  much 
white  blood  added  to  the  respective  bodies.  Some  of  the 
Gipsies  have,  doubtless,  been  hanged  ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  many  of  the  Negroes  have  been  worked  to  death. 
There  is  a  great  difference,  however,  between  the  wild,  in¬ 
dependent  Gipsy  race  and  the  Negroes  in  the  New  World. 
I  should  not  suppose  that  the  Gipsy  race  in  Europe  and 
America  can  be  less  than  4,000,000.  It  embraces,  for  cer¬ 
tainty,  as  in  Scotland,  men  ranging  in  character  and  position 
from  a  pillar  of  the  Church  down  to  a  common  tinker.* 

Christians  not  only  flatter  but  delude  the  Jew,  when  they 
say  that  his  race  is  “  purity  itself  they  greatly  flatter  and 

Northern  Netherlands.  By  J.  Dirks.  Edited  by  the  Provincial  Utrecht 
Society  of  Arts  and  Sciences.  Utrecht:  1850.  pp.  viii.  and  160.” 

Indeed,  the  Gipsies  are  scattered  all  over  Europe,  and  are  to  be  found  in 
the  condition  described  in  the  present  work. 

*  There  are,  probably,  12,0u0,000  of  Jews  in  the  world.  I  have  seen 
them  estimated  at  from  ten  to  twelve  millions.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain 
anything  like  a  correct  number  of  the  Jews,  in  almost  any  country,  leaving 
out  of  view  the  immense  numbers  scattered  over  the  world,  and  living  even 
in  parts  unexplored  Joy  Europeans. 


494 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


delude  him,  when  they  say  that  the  phenomenon  of  its  ex¬ 
istence,  since  the  dispersion,  is  miraculous.  There  is  nothing 
miraculous  about  it.  There  is  nothing  miraculous  about  the 
perpetuation  of  Quakerdom  ;  yet  Quakerdomhas  existed  for 
two  centuries.  Although  Quakerdom  is  but  an  artificial 
thing,  that  proceeded  out  from  among  common  English  peo¬ 
ple,  it  has  somewhat  the  appearance  of  being  a  distinct  race, 
among  those  surrounding  it.  As  such,  it  appears,  at  first 
sight,  to  inexperienced  youth,  or  people  who  have  never  seen, 
or  perhaps  heard,  much  of  Quakers.  But  how  much  greater 
is  the  difference  between  Jews  and  Christians,  than  between 
Quakers  and  ordinary  Englishmen,  and  Americans !  And 
how  much  greater  the  certainty  that  Jews  will  keep  them¬ 
selves  distinct  from  Christians,  and  all  others  in  the  world  ! 
It  must  be  self-evident  to  the  most  unreflecting  person,  that 
the  natural  causes  which  keep  Jews  separated  from  other 
people,  during  one  generation,  continue  to  keep  them  distinct 
during  every  other  generation.  A  miracle,  indeed!  We 
must  look  into  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  for  miracles. 
A  Jew  will  naturally  delude  himself  about  the  existence  of 
his  race,  since  the  dispersion,  being  a  miracle  ;  yet  not  be¬ 
lieve  upon  a  person,  if  lie  were  even  to  rise  from  the  dead  ! 
A  little  consideration  of  the  philosophy  of  the  Jewish  ques¬ 
tion  will  teach  us  that,  perhaps,  the  best  way  for  Providence 
to  preserve  the  Jews,  as  they  have  existed  since  their  dis¬ 
persion,  would  have  been  merely  to  leave  them  alone — leave 
them  to  their  impenitence  and  unbelief — and  take  that  much 
care  of  them  that  is  taken  of  ravens. 

The  subject  of  the  Gipsies  is  a  mine  which  Christians 
should  work,  so  as  to  countermine  and  explode  the  conceit 
of  the  Jew  in  the  history  of  his  people  ;  for  that,  as  I  have 
already  said,  is  the  greatest  bar  to  his  conversion  to  Chris¬ 
tianity.  Still,  it  is  possible  that  some  people  may  oppose 
the  idea  that  the  Gipsies  are  the  “  mixed  multitude”  of  the 
Exodus,  from  some  such  motive  as  that  which  induces  others 
not  merely  to  disbelieve,  but  revile,  and  even  rave  at  some 
of  the  clear  points  of  revelation.*  What  objection  could 

*  It  is  astonishing  how  superficially  some  passages  of  Scripture  are  in¬ 
terpreted.  There  is,  for  instance,  the  conduct  of  Gamaliel,  before  the  Jewish 
council,  (Acts  v.  17-40.)  The  advice  given  by  him,  as  a  Pharisee,  was 
nothing  but  a  piece  of  specious  party  clap-trap,  to  discomfit  a  Sadducee. 
St.  Paul,  who  was  brought  up  at  the  feet  of  this  Pharisee,  and,  doubtless. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


495 


any  one  advance  against  the  Gipsies  being  the  people  that 
left  Egypt,  in  the  train  of  the  Jews  ?  Not,  certainly,  an  ob¬ 
jection  as  to  race  ;  for  there  must  have  been  many  captive 
people,  or  tribes,  introduced  into  Egypt,  from  the  many 
countries  surrounding  it.  Pharaoh  was  a  czar  in  his  day, 
transplanting  people  at  his  pleasure.  Of  one  of  his  cities  it 
was  said, 

“  That,  spreads  her  conquests  o’er  a  thousand  states, 

And  pours  her  heroes  through  a  hundred  gates : 

Two  hundred  horsemen,  and  two  hundred  cars, 

From  each  wide  portal,  issuing  to  the  wars.” 

That  the  “mixed  multitude”  travelled  into  India,  acquired 
the  language  of  that  part  of  Asia,  and,  perhaps,  modified  its 
appearance  there,  and  became  the  origin  of  the  Gipsy  race, 
we  may  very  safely  assume.  This  much  is  certain,  that  they 
are  not  Sudras,  but  a  very  ancient  tribe,  distinct  from  every 
other  in  the  world.  With  the  exception  of  the  Jews,  we 
have  no  certainty  of  the  origin  of  any  people  ;  in  every 
other  case  it  is  conjecture  ;  even  the  Hungarians  know  no¬ 
thing  of  their  origin  ;  and  it  is  not  wonderful  that  it  should 
be  the  same  with  the  Gipsies.  Everything  harmonizes  so 
beautifully  with  the  idea  that  the  Gipsies  are  the  “  mixed 
multitude”  of  the  Exodus,  that  it  may  be  admitted  by  the 
world.  Even  in  the  matter  of  religion,  we  could  imagine 

well  versed  in  the  factious  tactics  of  his  party,  gives  a  beautiful  commentary 
on  the  action  of  his  old  master,  when,  on  being  brought  before  the  same 
tribunal,  and  perceiving  that  his  enemies  embraced  both  parties,  he  set 
them  by  the  ears,  by  proclaiming  himself  a  Pharisee,  and  raising  the  ques¬ 
tion,  (the  “  hope  and  resurrection  of  the  dead,”)  on  which  they  so  bitterly 
disagreed.  (Acts  xxiii.  6-10.)  There  was  much  adroitness  displayed  by 
the  Apostle,  in  so  turning  the  wrath  of  his  enemies  against  themselves,  after 
having  inadvertently  reviled  the  high  priest,  in  their  presence,  and  within 
one  of  the  holy  places,  in  such  language  as  the  following:  “  God  shall  smite 
thee,  thou  whited  wall :  fur  sittest  thou  to  judge  me  after  the  law,  and  coru- 
mandest  me  to  be  smitten,  contrary  to  the  law.”  As  it  was,  he  was  only 
saved  from  being  “  pulled  in  pieces”  by  his  blood-thirsty  persecutors — the 
one  sect  attacking,  and  the  other  defending  him — by  a  company  of  Roman 
soldiers,  dispatched  to  take  him  by  force  from  among  them.  Nothing  could 
be  more  specious  than  Gamaliel’s  reasoning,  for  it  could  apply  to  almost 
anything,  and  was  well  suited  to  the  feelings  of  a  divided  and  excited  as¬ 
sembly  ;  or  have  less  foundation,  according  to  his  theory,  for  the  very  steps 
which  he  advised  the  people  against  adopting,  for  the  suppression  of  Chris- 
tiaus,  were  used  to  destroy  the  false  Messiahs  to  whom  he  referred.  And 
yet  people  quote  this  recorded  clap-trap  of  an  old  Pharisee,  as  an  inspira¬ 
tion,  for  the  guidance  of  private  Christians,  and  Christian  magistrates  1 


496 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Egyptian  captives  losing  a  knowledge  of  their  religion,  as 
has  happened  with  the  Africans  in  the  New  World,  and,  not 
having  had  another  taught  them,  leaving  Egypt  under  Moses, 
without  any  religion  at  all.*  After  entering  India,  they 
would,  in  all  probability,  become  a  wandering  people,  and, 
for  a  certainty,  live  aloof  from  all  others. 

While  the  history  of  the  Jews,  since  the  dispersion,  greatly 
illustrates  that  of  the  Gipsies,  so  does  the  history  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  greatly  illustrate  that  of  the  Jews.  They  greatly  re¬ 
semble  each  other.  Jews  shuffle,  when  they  say  that  the 
only  difference  between  an  Englishman  and  an  English  Jew, 
is  in  the  matter  of  creed  ;  for  there  is  a  great  difference  be¬ 
tween  the  two,  whatever  they  may  have  in  common,  as  men 
born  and  reared  on  the  same  soil.  The  very  appearance  of 
the  two  is  palpable  proof  that  they  are  not  of  the  same  race. 
The  Jew  invariably,  and  unavoidably,  holds  his  “  nation”  to 
mean  the  Jewish  people,  scattered  over  the  world  ;  and  is 
reared  in  the  idea  that  he  is,  not  only  in  creed,  but  in  blood, 
distinct  from  other  men  ;  and  that,  in  blood  and  creed,  he 
is  not  to  amalgamate  with  them,  let  him  live  where  he  may. 
Indeed,  what  England  is  to  an  Englishman,  this  universally 
scattered  people  is  to  the  Jew  ;  what  the  history  of  England 
is  to  an  Englishman,  the  Bible  is  to  the  Jew  ;  his  nation  be¬ 
ing  nowhere  in  particular,  but  everywhere,  while  its  ultimate 
destiny  he,  more  or  less,  believes  to  be  Palestine.  Now,  an 
Englishman  has  not  only  been  born  an  Englishman,  but  his 
mind  has  been  cast  in  a  mould  that  makes  him  an  English¬ 
man  ;  so  that,  to  persecute  him,  on  the  ground  of  his  being 
an  Englishman,  is  to  persecute  him  for  that  which  can  never 
be  changed.  It  is  precisely  so  with  the  Jew.  His  creed 
does  not  amount  to  much,  for  it  is  only  part  of  the  history 
of  his  race,  or  the  law  of  his  nation,  traced  to,  and  emanat¬ 
ing  from,  one  God,  and  Him  the  true  God,  as  distinguished 
from  the  gods  and  lords  many  of  other  nations  :  such  is  the 
nature  of  the  Jewish  theocracy.  To  persecute  a  Gipsy,  for 
being  a  Gipsy,  would  likewise  be  to  persecute  him  for  that 
which  he  could  not  help  ;  for  to  prevent  a  person  being  a 


*  Tacitus  makes  Caius  Cassius,  in  the  time  of  Nero,  say:  “  At  present, 
we  have  in  our  service  whole  nations  of  slaves,  the  scum  of  mankind,  col¬ 
lected  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe  ;  a  race  of  men  who  bring  with  them 
foreign  rites,  and  the  religion  of  their  country,  or,  probably,  no  religion  at 
all" — Murphy's  Translation. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


497 


Gipsy,  in  the  most  important  sense  of  the  word,  it  would  be 
necessary  to  take  him,  when  an  infant,  and  rear  him  entirely 
apart  from  his  own  race,  so  that  he  should  never  hear  the 
11  wonderful  story,”  nor  have  his  mind  filled  with  the  Gipsy 
electric  fluid.  An  English  Gipsy  went  abroad,  very  young, 
as  a  soldier,  and  was  many  years  from  home,  without  having 
had  a  Gipsy  companion,  so  that  he  had  almost  forgotten 
that  he  was  a  Gipsy  ;  but,  on  his  returning  home,  other  Gip¬ 
sies  applied  their  magnetic  battery  to  him,  and  gipsyfied 
him  over  again.  A  town  Gipsy  will  occasionally  send  a 
child  to  a  Gipsy  hedge-schoolmaster,  for  the  purpose  of  being 
extra  gipsyfied. 

The  being  a  Gipsy,  or  a  Jew,  or  a  Gentile,  consists  in  birth 
and  rearing.  The  three  may  be  born  and  brought  up  under 
one  general  roof,  members  of  their  respective  nationalities, 
yet  all  good  Christians.  But  the  Jew,  by  becoming  a  Chris¬ 
tian,  necessarily  cuts  himself  off  from  associations  with  the 
representative  part  of  his  nation  ;  for  Jews  do  not  tolerate 
those  who  forsake  the  synagogue,  and  believe  in  Christ,  as 
the  Messiah  having  come  ;  however  much  they  may  respect 
their  children,  who,  though  born  into  the  Christian  Church, 
and  believing  in  its  doctrines,  yet  maintain  the  inherent  af¬ 
fection  for  the  associations  connected  with  the  race,  and 
more  especially  if  they  also  occupy  distinguished  positions 
in  life.  So  intolerant,  indeed,  are  Jews  of  each  other,  in 
the  matter  of  each  choosing  his  own  religion,  extending 
sometimes  to  assassination  in  some  countries,  and  invariably 
to  the  crudest  persecutions  in  families,  that  they  are  hardly 
justified  in  asking,  and  scarcely  merit,  toleration  for  them¬ 
selves,  as  a  people,  from  the  nations  among  whom  they  live. 
The  present  Disraeli  doubtless  holds  himself  to  be  a  Jew, 
let  his  creed  or  Christianity  be  what  it  may  ;  if  he  looks  at 
himself  in  his  mirror,  he  cannot  deny  it.  We  have  an  in¬ 
stance  in  the  Cappadoce  family  becoming,  and  remaining  for 
several  generations,  Christians,  then  returning  to  the  syna¬ 
gogue,  and,  in  another  generation,  joining  the  Christian 
church.  The  same  vicissitude  may  attend  future  generations 
of  this  family.  There  should  be  no  great  obstacle  in  the 
way  of  it  being  allowed  to  pass  current  in  the  world,  like 
any  other  fact,  that  a  person  can  be  a  Jew  and,  at  the  same 
Time,  a  Christian  ;  as  we  say  that  a  man  can  be  an  English¬ 
man  and  a  Christian,  a  McGregor  and  a  Christian,  a  Gipsy 


498 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


and  a  Christian,  or  a  Jew  and  a  Christian,  even  should  he 
not  know  when  his  ancestors  attended  the  synagogue. 
Christianity  was  not  intended,  nor  is  it  capable,  to  destroy 
the  nationality  of  Jews,  as  individuals,  or  as  a  nation,  any 
more  than  that  of  other  people.  We  may  even  assume  that 
a  person,  having  a  Jew  for  one  parent,  and  a  Christian  for 
another,  and  professing  the  Christian  faith,  and  having  the 
influences  of  the  Jew  exercised  over  him  from  his  infancy, 
cannot  fail,  with  his  blood  and,  it  may  be,  physiognomy,  to 
have  feelings  peculiar  to  the  Jews  ;  although  he  may  believe 
them  as  blind,  in  the  matter  of  religion,  as  do  other  Chris¬ 
tians.  But  separate  him,  after  the  death  of  the  Jewish 
parent,  from  all  associations  with  Jews,  and  he  may  gradually 
lose  those  peculiarly  Jewish  feelings  that  are  inseparable 
from  a  Jewish  community,  however  small  it  may  be.  There 
are,  then,  no  circumstances,  out  of  and  independent  of  himself 
and  the  other  members  of  his  family,  to  constitute  him  a 
Jew  ;  and  still  less  can  it  be  so  with  his  children,  when  they 
marry  with  ordinary  Christians,  and  never  come  in  intimate 
contact  with  Jews.  The  Jewish  feeling  may  be  ultimately 
crossed  out  in  this  way  ;  I  say  ultimately,  for  it  does  not 
take  place  in  the  first  descent,  (and  that  is  as  far  as  my  per¬ 
sonal  knowledge  goes,)  even  although  the  mother  is  an  ordi¬ 
nary  Christian,  and  the  children  have  been  brought  up  ex¬ 
clusively  to  follow  her  religion. 

Gipsydom,  however,  goes  with  the  individual,  and  keeps 
itself  alive  in  the  family,  and  the  private  associations  of  life, 
let  its  creed  be  what  it  may  ;  the  original  cast  of  mind, 
words,  and  signs,  always  remaining  with  itself.  In  this  re¬ 
spect,  the  Gipsy  differs  from  every  other  man.  He  cannot 
but  know  who  lie  is  to  start  life  with,  nor  can  he  forget  it ; 
lie  lias  those  words  and  signs  within  himself  which,  as  he 
moves  about  in  the  world,  he  finds  occasion  to  use.  A  Jew 
may  boast  of  the  peculiar  cast  of  countenance  by  which  his 
race  is  generally  characterized,  and  how  his  nation  is  kept 
together  by  a  common  blood,  history,  and  creed.  But  the 
phenomenon  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Gipsy  race  is 
more  wonderful  than  that  which  is  connected  with  the  Jew¬ 
ish  ;  inasmuch  as,  let  the  blood  of  the  Gipsy  become  as  much 
mixed  as  it  may,  it  always  preserves  its  Gipsy  identity  ;  al¬ 
though  it  may  not  have  the  least  outward  resemblance  to  an 
original  Gipsy.  You  cannot  crush  or  cross  out  the  Gipsy 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


499 


race  ;  so  thoroughly  subtle,  so  thoroughly  adaptable,  so 
thoroughly  capable,  is  it  to  evade  every  weapon  that  can  be 
forged  against  it.  The  Gipsy  soul,  in  whatever  condition  it 
may  be  found,  or  whatever  may  be  the  tabernacle  which  it 
may  inhabit,  is  as  independent,  now,  of  those  laws  which 
regulate  the  disappearance  of  certain  races  among  others, 
as  when  it  existed  in  its  wild  state,  roaming  over  the  heath. 
The  Gipsy  race,  in  short,  absorbs,  but  cannot  be  absorbed  by, 
other  races. 

In  my  associations  with  Gipsies  and  Jews,  I  find  that  both 
races  rest  upon  the  same  basis,  viz.  :  a  question  of  people. 
The  response  of  the  one,  as  to  who  he  is,  is  that  he  is  a  Gipsy  ; 
and  of  the  other,  that  he  is  a  Jew.  Each  of  them  has  a 
peculiarly  original  soul,  that  is  perfectly  different  from  each 
other,  and  others  around  them  ;  a  soul  that  passes  as  natu¬ 
rally  and  unavoidably  into  each  succeeding  generation  of 
the  respective  races,  as  does  the  soul  of  the  English  or  any 
other  race  into- each  succeeding  generation.  For  each  con¬ 
siders  his  nation  as  abroad  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  ; 
which  circumstance  will  preserve  its  existence  amid  all  tho 
revolutions  to  which  ordinary  nations  are  subject.  As  they 
now  exist  within,  and  independent  of,  the  nations  among 
whom  they  live,  so  will  they  endure,  if  these  nations  were 
to  disappear  under  the  subjection  of  other  nations,  or  become 
incorporated  with  them  under  new  names.  Many  of  the 
Gipsies  and  Jews  might  perish  amid  such  convulsions,  but 
those  that  survived  would  constitute  the  stock  of  their  re¬ 
spective  nations  ;  while  others  might  migrate  from  other 
countries,  and  contribute  to  their  numbers.  In  the  case  of 
the  Gipsy  nation,  as  it  gets  crossed  with  common  blood,  the 
issue  shows  the  same  result  as  does  the  shaking  of  the  needle 
on  the  card — it  always  turns  to  the  pole  :  that  pole,  among 
the  Gipsies,  being  a  sense  of  its  blood,  and  a  sympathy  with 
the  same  people  in  every  part  of  the  world.  For  this  rea¬ 
son,  the  Gipsy  race,  like  the  Jewish,  may,  with  regard  to  its 
future,  be  said  to  be  even  eternal. 

The  Gipsy  soul  is  fresh  and  original,  not  only  from  its 
recent  appearance  in  Europe,  without  any  traditional  knowl¬ 
edge  of  its  existence  any  where  else,  but  from  having  sprung 
from  so  singular  an  origin  as  a  tent ;  so  that  the  mystery 
that  attaches  to  it,  from  these  causes,  and  the  contemplation 
of  the  Gipsy,  in  his  original  state,  to-day,  present  to  the 


500 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


Gipsy  that  fascination  for  his  own  history  which  the  Jew 
finds  in  the  antiquity  of  his  race,  and  the  exalted  privileges 
with  which  it  was  at  one  time  visited.  The  civilized  Gipsy 
looks  upon  his  ancestors,  as  they  appeared  in  Europe  gener¬ 
ally,  and  Scotland  especially,  as  great  men,  as  heroes  who 
scorned  the  company  of  anything  below  a  gentleman.  And 
he  is  not  much  out  of  the  way  ;  for  John  Faw,  and  Towla 
Bailyow,  and  the  others  mentioned  in  the  act  of  1540,  were 
unquestionably  heroes  of  the  first  water.  He  pictures  to 
himself  these  men  as  so  many  swarthy,  slashing  heroes, 
dressed  in  scarlet  and  green,  armed  with  pistols  and  broad¬ 
swords,  mounted  on  blood-horses,  with  hawks  and  hounds  in 
their  train.  True  to  nature,  every  Gipsy  is  delighted  with 
his  descent,  no  matter  what  other  people,  in  their  ignorance 
of  the  subject,  may  think  of  it,  or  what  their  prejudices  may 
be  in  regard  to  it.  One  of  the  principal  differences  to  be 
drawn  between  the  history  of  the  Gipsies  and  that  of  the 
Jews,  is,  as  I  have  already  stated,  that  the  Jews  left  Pales¬ 
tine  a  civilized  people,  while  the  Gipsies  entered  Europe,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century,  in  a  barbarous  state. 
But  the  difference  is  only  of  a  relative  nature  ;  for  when 
the  Gipsies  emerge  from  their  original  condition,  they  occu¬ 
py  as  good  positions  in  the  world  as  the  Jews  ;  while  they 
have  about  them  none  of  those  outward  peculiarities  of  the 
Jews,  that  make  them,  in  a  manner,  offensive  to  other  people. 
In  every  sense  but  that  of  belonging  to  the  Gipsy  tribe, 
they  are  ordinary  natives  ;  for  the  circumstances  that  have 
formed  the  characters  of  the  ordinary  natives  have  formed 
theirs.  Besides  this,  there  is  a  degree  of  dignity  about  the 
general  bearing  of  such  people,  rough  as  it  sometimes  is, 
that  plainly  shows  that  they  are  no  common  fellows,  at  least 
that  they  do  not  hold  themselves  to  be  such.  For  it  is  to  be 
remarked,  that  such  people  do  not  directly  apply  to  them¬ 
selves  the  prejudice  which  exists  towards  what  the  world 
understands  to  be  Gipsies  ;  however  much  they  may  infer 
that  such  would  be  directed  against  them,  should  the  world 
discover  that  they  belonged  to  the  tribe.  In  this  respect, 
they  differ  from  Jews,  all  of  whom  apply  to  themselves  the 
prejudice  of  the  rest  of  their  species  ;  which  exercises  so 
depressing  an  influence  upon  the  character  of  a  people.  In¬ 
deed,  one  will  naturally  look  for  certain  general  superior 
points  of  character  in  a  man  who  has  fairly  emerged  from  a 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


501 


wild  and  barbarous  state,  which  he  will  not  be  so  apt  to  find 
in  another  who  lias  fallen  from  a  higher  position  in  the  scale 
of  nations,  which  the  Jew  has  unquestionably  done.  A  Jew, 
no  matter  what  he  thinks  of  the  long-gone-by  history  of  his 
race,  looks  upon  it,  now,  as  a  fallen  people  ;  while  the  Gipsy 
has  that  subdued  but,  at  heart,  consequential,  extravagance 
of  ideas,  springing  from  the  wild  independence  and  vanity 
of  his  ancestors,  which  frequently  finds  a  vent  in  a  lavish 
and  foolish  expenditure,  so  as  not  to  be  behind  others  in  his 
liberality.  A  very  good  idea  of  such  a  cast  of  character 
may  be  formed  from  that  of  the  superior  class  of  Gipsies 
mentioned  by  our  author,  when  the  descendants  of  such 
have  been  brought  up  under  more  favourable  circumstances, 
and  enjoyed  all  the  advantages  of  the  ordinary  natives  of 
the  country. 

In  considering  the  phenomenon  of  the  existence  of  the 
Jews  since  the  dispersion,  I  am  not  inclined  to  place  it  on 
any  other  basis  than  I  would  that  of  the  Gipsies  ;  for,  with 
both,  it  is  substantially  a  question  of  people.  They  are  a 
people,  scattered  over  the  world,  like  the  Gipsies,  and  have 
a  history — the  Bible,  which  contains  both  their  history 
and  their  laws ;  and  these  two  contain  their  religion.  It 
would,  perhaps,  be  more  correct  to  say,  that  the  religion 
of  the  Jews  is  to  be  found  in  the  Talmud,  and  the  other 
human  compositions,  for  which  the  race  have  such  a  super¬ 
stitious  reverence  ;  and  even  these  are  taken  as  interpreted 
by  the  Rabbis.  A  Jew  has,  properly  speaking,  little  of  a 
creed.  He  believes  in  the  existence  of  God,  and  in  Moses, 
his  prophet,  and  observes  certain  parts  of  the  ceremonial 
law,  and  some  holidays,  commemorative  of  events  in  the 
history  of  his  people.  He  is  a  Jew,  in  the  first  place,  as  a 
simple  matter  of  fact,  and,  as  he  grows  up,  he  is  made  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  history  of  his  race,  to  which  he  becomes 
strongly  attached.  He  then  holds  himself  to  be  one  of  the 
“  first-born  of  the  Lord,”  one  of  the  “  chosen  of  the  Eternal,” 
one  of  the  “  Lord’s  aristocracy  expressions  of  amazing 
import,  in  his  worldly  mind,  that  will  lead  him  to  almost 
die  for  his  faith  ;  while  his  religion  is  of  a  very  low  natural 
order,  “  standing  only  in  meats  and  drinks,  and  divers  wash¬ 
ings,  and  carnal  ordinances,”  suitable  for  a  people  in  a  state 
of  pupilage.  The  Jewish  mind,  in  the  maiter  of  religion,  is, 
in  some  respects,  preeminently  gross  and  material  in  its 


502 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


nature  ;  its  idea  of  a  Messiah  rising  no  higher  than  a  con¬ 
queror  of  its  own  race,  who  will  bring  the  whole  world 
under  his  sway,  and  parcel  out,  among  his  fellow- Jews,  a 
lion’s  share  of  the  spoils,  consisting  of  such  things  as  the 
inferior  part  of  human  nature  so  much  craves  for.  And  his 
ideas  of  how  this  Messiah  is  to  be  connected  with  the  ori¬ 
ginal  tribes,  as  mentioned  in  the  prophecies,  are  childish 
and  superstitious  in  the  extreme.  Writers  do,  therefore, 
greatly  err,  when  they  say,  that  it  is  only  a  thin  partition 
that  separates  Judaism  from  Christianity.  There  is  almost 
as  great  a  dilference  between  the  two,  as  there  is  between 
that  which  is  material,  and  that  which  is  spiritual.  A  Jew 
is  so  thoroughly  bound,  heart  and  soul,  by  the  spell  which 
the  phenomena  of  his  race  exert  upon  him,  that,  humanly 
speaking,  it  is  impossible  to  make  anything  of  him  in  the 
matter  of  Christianity.  And  herein,  in  his  own  Avay  of  think¬ 
ing,  consists  his  peculiar  glory.  Such  being  the  case  with 
Christianity,  it  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Jew  would 
forsake  his  own  religion,  and,  of  course,  his  own  people,  and 
believe  in  any  religion  having  an  origin  in  the  spontaneous 
and  gradual  growtli  of  superstition  and  imposture,  modified, 
systematized,  adorned,  or  expanded,  by  ambitious  and 
superior  minds,  or  almost  wholly  in  the  conceptions  of 
these  minds  ;  having,  for  a  foundation,  an  instinct — an 
intellectual  and  emotional  want— as  common  to  man,  as 
instinct  is  to  the  brute  creation,  for  the  ends  which  it  has 
to  serve.  We  cannot  separate  the  questions  of  race  and 
belief,  when  we  consider  the  Jews  as  a  people,  however  it 
might  be  with  individuals  among  them.  It  was  as  unrea¬ 
sonable  to  persecute  a  Jew,  for  not  giving  up  his  feelings 
as  a  Jew,  and  his  religion,  for  the  superstitions  and  impos¬ 
tures  of  Rome,  as  it  was  to  persecute  a  Gipsy,  for  not  giving 
up  his  feelings  of  nationality,  and  his  language,  as  was  spe¬ 
cially  attempted  by  Charles  III.,  of  Spain  :  for  such  are  in¬ 
herent  in  the  respective  races.  The  worst  that  can  be  said 
of  any  Gipsy,  in  the  matter  of  religion,  is,  when  we  meet 
with  one  who  admits  that  all  that  he  really  cares  for  is, 
“  to  get  a  good  belly-full,  and  to  feel  comfortable  o’  nights.” 
Here,  we  have  an  original  soil  to  be  cultivated  ;  a  soil  that 
can  be  cultivated,  if  we  only  go  the  right  way  about  doing  it. 
Out  of  such  a  man,  there  is  no  other  spirit  to  be  cast,  but 
that  of  “  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil,”  before  another 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


503 


can  take  up  its  habitation  in  his  mind.  Bigoted  as  is  the 
Jew  against  even  entertaining  the  claims  of  Christ,  as  the 
Messiah,  lie  is  very  indifferent  to  the  practice,  or  even  the 
knowledge,  of  his  own  religion,  where  he  is  tolerated  and 
well-treated,  as  in  the  United  States  of  America.  Of  the 
growing-up,  or  even  the  grown-up,  Jews  in  that  country, 
the  ultra-Jewish  organ,  the  “Jewish  Messenger,”  of  New 
York,  under  date  the  19th  October,  I860,  says  that,  “with 
the  exception  of  a  very  few,  who  are  really  taught  their  reli¬ 
gion,  the  great  majority,  we  regret  to  state,  know  no  more 
of  their  faith  than  the  veriest  heathen  and,  I  might  add, 
practise  less  of  it ;  for,  as  a  people,  they  pay  very  little 
regard  to  it,  in  general,  or  to  the  Sabbath,  in  particular, 
but  are  characterized  as  worldly  beyond  measure ;  having 
more  to  answer  for  than  the  Gipsy,  whose  sole  care  is  “a 
good  meal,  and  a  comfortable  crib  at  night.”* 

Amid  all  the  obloquy  and  contempt  cast  upon  his  race, 
amid  all  the  persecutions  to  which  it  has  been  exposed,  the 
Jew,  with  his  inherent  conceit  in  having  Abraham  for  his 
father,  falls  back  upon  the  history  of  his  nation,  with  the 
utmost  contempt  for  everything  else  that  is  human  ;  forget¬ 
ting  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  the  “  first  being  last.”  He 
boasts  that  his  race,  and  his  only,  is  eternal,  and  that  all 
other  men  get  everything  from  him  !  He  vainly  imagines 
that  the  Majesty  of  Heaven  should  have  made  his  dispensa¬ 
tions  to  mankind  conditional  upon  anything  so  unworthy  as 
his  race  has  so  frequently  shown  itself  to  be.  If  he  has  been 
so  favoured  by  God,  what  can  he  point  to  as  the  fruits  of  so 
much  loving-kindness  shown  him  ?  What  is  his  nation 
now,  however  numerous  it  may  be,  but  a  ruin,  and  its  mem* 
bers,  but  spectres  that  haunt  it?  And  what  has  brought  it 
to  its  present  condition?  “Its  sins.”  Doubtless,  its  sins; 
but  what  particular  sins  ?  And  how  are  these  sins  to  be 

*  The  following  extract  from  “  Leaves  from  the  Diary  of  a  Jewish  Min¬ 
ister,”  published  in  the  above  mentioned  journal,  on  the  4th  April,  1862, 
may  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  Christian  reader: 

“  In  our  day,  the  conscience  of  Israel  is  seldom  troubled  ;  it  is  of  so  elastic 
a  character,  that,  like  gutta  percha,  it  stretches  and  is  compressed,  accord¬ 
ing  to  the  desire  of  its  owner.  We  seldom  hear  of  a  troubled  conscience. 

.  .  .  .  Not  that  we  would  assert  that  our  people  are  without  a  con¬ 

science  ;  we  merely  state  that  we  seldom  hear  of  its  troubles.  It  is  more 
than  probable,  that  when  the  latent  feeling  is  aroused  on  matters  of  religion, 
and  for  a  moment,  they  have  an  idea  that  ‘  their  soul  is  not  well,’  they  take 
a  homoeopathic  dose  of  spiritual  medicine,  and  then  feel  quite  convalescent.” 


504 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


put  away,  peeing  that  the  temple,  the  high-priesthood,  and 
the  sacrifices  no  longer  exist?  Or  what  effort,  by  such 
means  as  offer,  has  ever  been  made  to  mitigate  the  wrath 
of  God,  and  prevail  upon  Him  to  restore  the  people  to  their 
exalted  privileges?  Or  what  could  they  even  propose 
doing,  to  bring  about  that  event?  Questions  like  these  in¬ 
volve  the  Jewish  mind  in  a  labyrinth  of  difficulties,  from 
which  it  cannot  extricate  itself.  The  dispersion  was  not 
only  foretold,  but  the  cause  of  it  given.  The  Scriptures 
declare  that  the  Messiah  was  to  have  appeared  before  the 
destruction  of  the  temple  ;  and  the  time  of  his  expected  ad¬ 
vent,  according  to  Jewish  traditions,  coincided  with  that 
event.  It  is  eighteen  centuries  since  the  destruction  of  the 
temple,  before  which  the  Messiah  was  to  have  come  ;  and 
the  Jew  still  “  hopes  against  hope,”  and,  if  it  is  left  to  him¬ 
self,  will  do  so  till  the  day  of  judgment,  for  such  a  Messiah  as 
his  earthly  mind  seems  to  be  only  capable  of  contemplating. 
Has  he  never  read  the  New  Testament,  and  reflected  on 
the  sufferings  of  him  who  was  meek  and  lowly,  or  on  those 
of  his  disciples,  inflicted  by  his  ancestors,  for  generations, 
when  he  has  come  complaining  of  the  sufferings  to  which 
his  race  has  been  exposed  ?  He  is  entitled  to  sympathy, 
for  all  the  cruelties  with  which  his  race  has  been  visited  ; 
but  he  could  ask  it  with  infinitely  greater  grace,  were  he  to 
offer  any  for  the  sufferings  of  the  early  Christians  and  their 
divine  master,  or  were  he,  even,  to  tolerate  any  of  his  race 
following  him  to-day. 

What  has  the  Jew  got  to  say  to  all  this  ?  He  cannot 
now  say  that  his  main  comfort  and  support,  in  his  unbelief, 
consists  in  his  contemplating  what  he  vainly  calls  a  miracle, 
wrapt  up  in  the  history  of  his  people,  since  the  dispersion. 
That  prop  and  comfort  are  gone.  No,  0  Jew !  the  true 
miracle,  if  miracle  there  is,  is  your  impenitent  unbelief. 
No  one  asks  you  to  disbelieve  in  Moses,  but,  in  addition  to 
believing  in  Moses,  to  believe  on  him  of  whom  Moses  wrote. 
Do  you  really  believe  in  Moses  ?  You,  doubtless,  believe 
after  a  sort ;  you  believe  in  Moses,  as  any  other  person  be¬ 
lieves  in  the  history  of  his  own  country  and  people ;  but 
your  belief  in  Moses  goes  little  further.  You  glory  in  the 
antiquity  of  your  race,  and  imagine  that  every  other  has 
perished.  No,  0  Jew  !  the  “  mixed  multitude”  which  left 
Egypt,  under  Moses,  separated  from  him,  and  passed  into 


DISQUISITION  ON  TUE  GIPSIES. 


505 


India,  lias  come  up,  in  these  latter  times,  again  to  vex  you. 
Even  it  is  entering,  it  may  be,  pressing,  into  the  Kingdom 
of  God,  and  leaving  you  out  of  it.  Yes !  the  people  from 
the  “  hedges  and  by-ways”  are  submitting  to  the  authority 
of  the  true  Messiah  ;  while  you,  in  your  infatuated  blindness, 
are  denying  him. 

What  may  be  termed  the  philosophy  of  the  Gipsies,  is 
very  simple  in  itself,  when  we  have  before  us  its  main  points, 
its  principles,  its  bearings,  its  genius  ;  and  fully  appreciated 
the  circumstances  with  which  the  people  are  surrounded. 
The  most  remarkable  thing  about  the  subject  is,  that  people 
never  should  have  dreamt  of  its  nature,  but,  on  the  con¬ 
trary,  believed  that  “  the  Gipsies  are  gradually  disappear¬ 
ing,  and  will  soon  become  extinct.”  The  Gipsies  have  al¬ 
ways  been  disappearing,  but  where  do  they  go  to  ?  Look  at 
any  tent  of  Gipsies,  when  the  family  are  all  together,  and 
see  how  prolific  they  are.  What,  then,  becomes  of  this  en- 
crease  ?  The  present  work  answers  the  question.  It  is  a 
subject,  however,  which  I  have  found  some  difficulty  in  get¬ 
ting  people  to  understand.  One  cannot  see  how  a  person 
can  be  a  Gipsy,  “  because  his  father  was  a  respectable  man  ;” 
another,  “  because  his  father  was  an  old  soldier  and 
another  cannot  see  “  how  it  necessarily  follows  that  a  person 
is  a  Gipsy,  for  the  reason  that  his  parents  were  Gipsies.” 
The  idea,  as  disconnected  from  the  use  of  a  tent,  or  follow¬ 
ing  a  certain  kind  of  life,  may  be  said  to  be  strange  to  the 
world  ;  and,  on  that  account,  is  not  very  easily  impressed  on 
the  human  mind.  It  would  be  singular,  however,  if  a  Scotch¬ 
man,  after  all  that  has  been  said,  should  not  be  able  to 
understand  what  is  meant  by  the  Scottish  Gipsy  tribe,  or 
that  it  should  ever  cease  to  be  that  tribe  as  it  progresses  in 
life.  In  considering  the  subject,  he  need  not  cast  about  for 
much  to  look  at,  for  he  should  exercise  his  mind,  rather  than 
his  eyes,  when  he  approaches  it.  It  is,  principally,  a  mental 
phenomenon,  and  should,  therefore,  be  judged  of  by  the 
faculties  of  the  mind  :  for  a  Gipsy  may  not  differ  a  whit 
from  an  ordinary  native,  in  external  appearance  or  charac¬ 
ter,  while,  in  his  mind,  he  may  be  as  thorough  a  Gipsy  as 
one  could  well  imagine. 

In  contemplating  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies,  we  should 
have  a  regard  for  the  facts  of  the  question,  and  not  be  led 
by  what  we  might,  or  might  not,  imagine  of  it ;  for  the 


506 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


latter  course  would  be  characteristic  of  people  having  the 
moral  and  intellectual  traits  of  children.  The  race  might, 
to  a  certain  extent,  be  judged  analogously,  by  what  we  know 
of  other  races  ;  but  that  which  is  pre-eminently  necessary, 
is  to  judge  of  it  by  facts  :  for  facts,  in  a  matter  like  this, 
take  precedence  of  everything.  Even  in  regard  to  the 
Gipsy  language,  broken  as  it  is,  people  are  very  apt  to  say 
that  it  cannot  exist  at  the  present  day  ;  yet  the  least  reflec¬ 
tion  will  convince  us,  that  the  language  which  the  Gipsies 
use  is  the  remains  of  that  which  they  brought  with  them 
into  Europe,  and  not  a  make-up,  to  serve  their  purposes. 
The  very  genius  peculiar  to  them,  as  an  Oriental  people, 
is  a  sufficient  guarantee  of  this  fact ;  and  the  more  so  from 
their  having  been  so  thoroughly  separated,  by  the  prejudice 
of  caste,  from  others  around  them  ;  which  would  so  naturally 
lead  them  to  use,  and  retain,  their  peculiar  speech.  But 
the  use  of  the  Gipsy  language  is  not  the  only,  not  even  the 
principal,  means  of  maintaining  a  knowledge  .of  being  Gip¬ 
sies  ;  perhaps  it  is  altogether  unnecessai’y  ;  for  the  mere 
consciousness  of  the  fact  of  being  Gipsies,  transmitted  from 
genei’ation  to  generation,  and  made  the  basis  of  marriages, 
and  the  intimate  associations  of  life,  is,  in  itself,  perfectly 
sufficient.  The  subject  of  two  distinct  races,  existing  upon 
the  same  soil,  is  not  very  familiar  to  the  mind  of  a  British 
subject.  To  acquii-e  a  knowledge  of  such  a  phenomenon, 
he  should  visit  certain  parts  of  Europe,  or  Asia,  or  Africa, 
or  the  New  World.  Since  all  (I  may  say  all)  Gipsies  hide 
the  knowledge  of  their  being  Gipsies  from  the  other  in¬ 
habitants,  as  they  leave  the  tent,  it  cannot  be  said  that  any 
of  them  really  deny  themselves,  even  should  they  hide  them¬ 
selves  from  those  of  their  own  l’ace.  The  ultimate  test  of  a 
person  being  a  Gipsy  would  be  for  another  to  catch  the  in¬ 
ternal  response  of  his  mind  to  the  question  put  to  him  as  to 
the  fact ;  or  observe  the  workings  of  his  heart  in  his  con¬ 
templations  of  himself.  It  can  hardly  be  said  that  any 
Gipsy  denies,  at  heart,  the  fact  of  his  being  a  Gipsy, 
(which,  indeed,  is  a  contradiction  in  terms,)  let  him  disguise 
it  from  others  as  much  as  he  may.  If  I  could  find  such 
a  man,  he  would  be  the  only  one  of  his  race  whom  1 
would  feel  inclined  to  despise  as  such. 

From  all  that  has  been  said,  the  l’eader  can  have  no  diffi¬ 
culty  in  believing,  with  me,  as  a  question  beyond  doubt,  that 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


507 


the  immortal  John  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy  of  mixed  blood. 
He  was  a  tinker.  And  who  were  the  tinkers  ?  Were  thero 
any  itinerant  tinkers  in  England,  before  the  Gipsies  settled 
there?  It  is  doubtful.  In  all  likelihood,  articles  requiring 
to  be  tinkered  were  carried  to  the  nearest  smithy.  The 
Gipsies  are  all  tinkers,  either  literally,  figuratively,  or  repre¬ 
sentatively.  Ask  any  English  Gipsy,  of  a  certain  class, 
what  he  can  do,  and,  after  enumerating  several  occupations, 
he  will  add  :  “  I  can  tinker,  of  course,”  although  he  may 
know  little  or  nothing  about  it.  Tinkering,  or  travelling- 
smith  work,  is  the  Gipsy’s  representative  business,  which  he 
brought  with  him  into  Europe.  Even  the  intelligent  and 
respectable  Scottish  Gipsies  speak  of  themselves  as  belong¬ 
ing  to  the  “  tinker  tribe.”  The  Gipsies  in  England,  as  in 
Scotland,  divided  the  country  among  themselves,  under 
representative  chiefs,  and  did  not  allow  any  other  Gipsies 
to  enter  upon  their  walks  or  beats.  Considering  that  the 
Gipsies  in  England  were  estimated  at  above  ten  thousand 
during  the  early  part  of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  we 
can  readily  believe  that  they  were  much  more  numerous 
during  the  time  of  Bunyan.  Was  there,  therefore,  a  pot  or 
a  kettle,  in  the  rural  parts  of  England,  to  be  mended,  for 
which  there  was  not  a  Gipsy  ready  to  attend  to  it  ?  If  a  Gipsy 
would  not  tolerate  any  of  his  own  race  entering  upon  his 
district,  was  he  likely  to  allow  any  native  ?  If  there  were 
native  tinkers  in  England  before  the  Gipsies  settled  there, 
how  soon  would  the  latter,  with  their  organization,  drive 
every  one  from  the  trade  by  sheer  force  !  What  thing  more 
like  a  Gipsy  ?  Among  the  Scotch,  we  find,  at  a  compara¬ 
tively  recent  time,  that  the  Gipsies  actually  murdered  a 
native,  for  infringing  upon  what  they  considered  one  of 
their  prerogatives— that  of  gathering  rags  through  the 
country. 

Lord  Macaulay  says,  with  reference  to  Bunyan  :  “  The 
tinkers  then  formed  a  hereditary  caste,  which  was  held  in 
no  high  estimation.  They  were  generally  vagrants  and  pil¬ 
ferers,  and  were  often  confounded  with  the  Gipsies,  whom, 
in  truth,  they  nearly  resembled.”  I  would  like  to  know  on 
what  authority  his  lordship  makes  such  an  assertion  ;  what 
he  knows  about  the  origin  of  this  “  hereditary  tinker  caste,” 
and  if  it  still  exists  ;  and  whether  he  holds  to  the  purity-of- 
Gipsy-blood  idea,  advanced  by  the  Edinburgh  Review  and 


608 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


Blackwood’s  Magazine,  but  especially  the  former.  How 
would  he  account  for  the  existence  of  a  hereditary  caste  of 
any  kind,  in  England,  and  that  just  one — the  “  tinker  caste”? 
There  wras  no  calling  at  that  time  hereditary  in  England, 
that  I  know  of ;  and  yet  Bunyan  -was  born  a  tinker.  In 
Scotland,  the  collier  and  salter  castes  were  hereditary,  for 
they  were  in  a  state  of  slavery  to  the  owners  of  these 
works.*  But  Avho  ever  heard  of  any  native  occupation,  so 
free  as  tinkering,  being  hereditary  in  England,  in  the  seven¬ 
teenth  century  ?  Was  not  this  “  tinker  caste,”  at  that  time, 
exactly  the  same  that  it  is  now?  If  it  was  then  hereditary, 
is  it  not  so  still  ?  If  not,  by  what  means  has  it  ceased  to 
be  hereditary  ?  The  tinkers  existed  in  England,  at  that  time, 
exactly  as  they  do  now.  And  who  are  they  now  but  mixed 
Gipsies  ?  It  is  questionable,  very  questionable  indeed,  if  we 
will  find,  in  all  England,  a  tinker  who  is  not  a  Gipsy.  The 
class  will  deny  it ;  the  purer  and  more  original  kind  of  Gip¬ 
sies  will  also  deny  it ;  still,  they  are  Gipsies.  They  are  all 
chabos,  calos,  or  chals  ;  but  they  will  play  upon  the  word  Gipsy 
in  its  ideal,  pnrity-of-blood  sense,  and  deny  that  they  are 
Gipsies.  We  will  find  in  Lavengro  two  such  Gipsies — the 
Flaming  Tinman,  and  Jack  Slingsby  ;  the  first,  a  half-blood, 
(which  did  not  necessarily  imply  that  either  parent  was 
white  ;)  and  the  other,  apparently,  a  very  much  mixed  Gipsy. 
The  tinman  termed  Slingsby  a  “  mumping  villain.”  Now, 
“mumper,”  among  the  English  Gipsies,  is  an  expression  for 
a  Gipsy  whose  blood  is  very  much  mixed.  When  Mr.  Bor¬ 
row  used  the  word  Petulengro,\  Slingsby  started,  and  ex¬ 
claimed  :  “  Young  man,  you  know  a  thing  or  two.”  I  have 
used  the  same  word  with  English  Gipsies,  causing  the  same 
surprise  ;  on  one  occasion,  1  was  told  :  “  You  must  be  a 
Scotch  Gipsy  yourself.”  “  Well,”  I  replied,  “  I  may  be  as 
good  a  Gipsy  as  any  of  you,  for  anything  you  may  know.” 
“  That  may  be  so,”  was  the  answer  I  got.  Then  Slingsby 
was  very  careful  to  mention  to  Lavengro  that  his  ivife  was 
a  white,  or  Christian,  woman  ;  a  thing  not  necessarily  true 
because  he  asserted  it,  but  it  implied  that  he  was  different. 
These  are  but  instances  of,  I  might  say,  all  the  English  tin- 

*  See  pages  111  and  121. 

j-  Petal,  according  to  Mr.  Borrow,  means  a  horse-shoe;  and  Petulengro, 
a  lord  of  the  horse-shoe.  It  is  evidently  a  very  high  catch-word  among 
the  English  Gipsies. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


509 


kers.  Almost  every  old  countrywoman  about  the  Scottish 
Border  knows  that  the  Scottish  tinkers  are  Gipsies.* 

*  Various  of  the  characters  mentioned  in  Mr.  Borrow’s  “  Lavengro,” 
and  “  ltomrny  Rye,”  are,  beyond  doubt,  Gipsies.  Old  Fulcher  is  termed, 
ilia  derisive  manner,  by  Ursula,  “a  gorgio  and  basket-maker.”  She  is  one 
of  the  ITernes;  a  family  which  gorgio  and  basket-maker  Gipsies  describe 
as  "an  ignorant,  conceited  set,  who  think  nothing  of  other  Gipsies,  owing 
to  the  quality  and  quantity  of  their  own  blood.”  This  is  the  manner  in 
which  the  more  original  and  pure  and  the  other  kind  of  English  Gipsies 
frequently  talk  of  each  other.  The  latter  will  deny  that  they  are  Gipsies, 
at  least  hide  it  from  the  world  ;  and,  like  the  same  kind  of  Scottish  Gipsies, 
speak  of  the  others,  exclusively,  as  Gipsies.  I  am  acquainted  with  a  fair¬ 
haired  English  Gipsy,  whose  wife,  now  dead,  was  a  half-breed.  “  But  I 
am  not  a  Gipsy,”  said  he  to  me,  very  abruptly,  before  I  had  said  anything 
that  could  have  induced  him  to  think  that  I  took  him  for  one.  He  spoke 
Gipsy,  like  the  others.  I  soon  caught  him  tripping ;  for,  in  speaking  of 
the  size  of  Gipsy  families,  he  slipped  his  foot,  and  said:  “  For  example, 
there  is  our  family  ;  there  were  (so  many)  of  us.”  There  is  another  Gipsy, 
a  neighbour,  who  passes  his  wife  off  to  the  public  as  an  Irish  woman,  while 
she  is  a  fair-haired  Irish  Gipsy.  Both,  in  short,  played  upon  the  word 
Gipsy  ;  for,  as  regards  fullness  of  blood,  they  really  were  not  Gipsies. 

The  dialogue  bet  ween  the  Romany  Rye  and  the  llorncastle  jockey  clearly 
shows  the  Gipsy  in  the  latter,  when  his  attention  is  directed  to  the  figure 
of  the  Hungarian.  The  Romany  Rye  makes  indirect  reference  to  the  Gip¬ 
sies,  and  the  jockey  abruptly  asks:  “Who  be  they?  Come,  don’t  be 
ashamed.  I  have  occasionally  kept  queerisli  company  myself.”  “  Romany 
chals  !  Whew  !  I  bcgiir  to  smell  a  rat.”  The  remainder  of  the  dialogue, 
and  the  spree  which  follows,  are  perfectly  Gipsy  throughout,  on  the  part  of 
the  jockey  ;  but,  like  so  many  of  his  race,  he  is  evidently  ashamed  to  own 
himsolf  up  to  be  “  one  of  them.”  He  says,  in  a  way  as  if  he  were  a 
stranger  to  the  language :  “  And  what  a  singular  language  they  have  got  1” 
“  Do  you  know  anything  of  it?”  said  the  Romany  Rye.  “  Only  a  very  few 
words;  they  were  always  char}-  in  teaching  me  any.”  He  said  he  was 
brought  up  with  the  gorgio  and  basket-maker  Fulcher,  who  followed  the 
caravan.  He  is  described  as  dressed  in  a  coat  of  green,  (a  favourite  Gipsy 
colour,)  and  as  having  curly  brown  or  black  hair;  and  he  says  of  Mary 
Fulcher,  whom  he  married :  “  She  had  a  fair  complexion,  and  nice  red  hair, 
both  of  which  I  liked,  being  a  bit  of  a  black  myself.”  How  much  this  is  in 
keeping  with  the  Gipsies,  who  so  frequently  speak  of  each  other,  in  a 
jocular  way,  as  “  brown  and  black  rascals  1” 

I  likewise  claim  Isopel  Berners,  in  Lavengro,  to  be  a  thumping  Gipsy 
lass,  who  travelled  the  country  with  her  donkey-cart,  taking  her  own  part, 
and  wapphig  this  one,  and  umpping  that  one.  It  signifies  not  what  her  ap¬ 
pearance  was.  I  have  frequently  taken  tea,  at  her  house,  with  a  young, 
blue-eyed,  English  Gipsy  widow,  perfectly  English  in  her  appearance,  whe 
spoke  Gipsy  freely  enough.  It  did  not  signify  what  Isopel  said  of  herself, 
or  her  relations.  How  did  she  come  to  speak  Gipsy?  Do  Gipsies  teach 
their  language  to  strangers,  and,  more  especially,  to  strange  women  ?  As¬ 
suredly  not.  Suppose  that  Isopel  was  not  a  Gipsy,  but  had  married  a 
Gipsy,  then  I  could  understand  how  she  might  have  known  Gipsy,  and  yet 
not  have  been  a  Gipsy,  except  by  initiation.  But  it  is  utterly  improbable 
that  she,  a  strange  woman,  should  have  been  taught  a  word  of  it. 

In  England  are  to  be  found  Gipsies  of  many  occupations  ;  horse-dealers. 


510 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


The  prejudice  against  the  name  of  Gipsy  was  apparently 
as  great  in  Bunyan’s  time  as  in  our  own  ;  and  there  was, 
evidently,  as  great  a  timidity,  on  the  part  of  mixed,  fair- 
haired  Gipsies,  to  own  the  blood  then,  as  now  ;  and  great 
danger,  for  then  it  was  hangablc  to  be  a  Gipsy,  by  the  law 
of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  “  felony  without  benefit  of  clergy,” 
for  “  any  person,  being  fourteen  years,  whether  natural  born 
subject  or  stranger,  who  had  been  seen  in  the  fellowship  of 
such  persons,  or  disguised  like  them,  and  remained  with  them 
one  month,  at  once,  or  at  several  times.”  When  the  name 
of  Gipsy,  and  every  association  connected  with  it,  were  so 
severely  proscribed  by  law,  what  other  name  would  the 
tribe  go  under  but  that  of  tinkers — their  own  proper  occu¬ 
pation  ?  Those  only  would  be  called  Gipsies  whose  appear¬ 
ance  indicated  the  pure,  or  nearly  pure,  Gipsy.  Although 
there  was  no  necessity,  under  any  circumstances,  for  Bunyan 
to  say  that  he  was  a  Gipsy,  and  still  less  in  the  face  of  the 
law  proscribing,  so  absolutely,  the  race,  and  every  one  coun¬ 
tenancing  it,  he  evidently  wished  the  fact  to  be  understood, 
or,  I  should  rather  say,  took  it  for  granted,  that  part  of  the 
public  knew  of  it,  when  he  said  :  “  For  my  descent,  it  was, 
as  is  well  known  to  many,  of  a  low  and  inconsiderable  gen¬ 
eration  ;  my  father’s  house  being  of  that  rank  that  is  meanest 
and  most  despised  of  all  the  families  of  the  land.”  Of  whom 
does  Bunyan  speak  here,  if  not  of  the  Gipsies  ?  He  says,  of 
all  the  families  of  the  land.  And  he  adds :  “  After  I  had 
been  thus  for  some  considerable  time,  another  thought  came 

livery  stable-keepers,  public-house  keepers,  sometimes  grocers  and  linen- 
drapers  ;  indeed,  almost  every  occupation  from  these  downwards.  I  can 
readily  enough  believe  an  English  Gipsy,  when  he  tells  me,  that  he  knows 
of  an  English  squire  a  Gipsy.  To  have  an  English  squire  a  Gipsy,  might 
have  come  about  even  in  this  way :  Imagine  a  rollicking  or  eccentric  Eng¬ 
lish  squire  taking  up  with,  and  marrying,  say,  a  pretty  mixed  Gipsy  bar  or 
lady’s  maid,  and  the  children  would  be  brought  up  Gipsies,  for  certainty. 

There  are  two  Gipsies,  of  the  name  of  B - ,  farmers  upon  the  estate 

of  Lord  Lister,  near  Massingham,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk.  They  are  des¬ 
cribed  as  good-sized,  handsome  men,  and  swarthy,  with  long  black  hair, 
combed  over  their  shoulders.  They  dress  in  the  old  Gipsy  stylish  fashion, 
with  a  green  cut-away,  or  Newmarket,  coat,  yellow  leather  breeches,  but¬ 
toned  to  the  knee,  and  top  boots,  with  a  Gipsy  hat,  ruffled  breast,  and 
turned-down  collar.  They  occupy  the  position  of  any  natives  in  society  ; 
attend  church,  take  an  interest  in  parish  matters,  dine  with  his  lordship's 
other  tenants,  and  compete  for  prizes  at  the  agricultural  shows.  They  are 
proud  of  being  Gipsies.  I  have  also  been  told  that  there  are  Gipsies  in  tho 
county  of  Kent,  who  have  hop  farms  and  dairies. 


DISQUISITION  ON  T1IE  GIPSIES. 


511 


into  my  mind,  and  that  was.  whether  we,  (his  family  and  rel¬ 
atives,)  were  of  the  Israelites  or  no  ?  For,  finding  in  the 
Scriptures,  that  they  were  once  the  peculiar  people  of  God, 
thought  I,  if  I  were  one  of  this  race,  (how  significant  is  the 
expression  !)  my  soul  must  needs  be  happy.  Now,  again,  I 
found  within  me  a  great  longing  to  be  resolved  about  this 
question,  but  could  not  tell  how  I  should  ;  at  last,  I 
asked  my  father  of  it,  who  told  me,  No,  we,  (his  father  in¬ 
cluded,)  were  not.”*  I  have  heard  the  same  question  put 
by  Gipsy  lads  to  their  parent,  (a  very  much  mixed  Gipsy,) 
and  it  was  answered  thus  :  “  We  must  have  been  among  the 
Jews,  for  some  of  our  ceremonies  are  like  theirs.”  The  best 
commentary  that  can  be  passed  on  the  above  extracts 
from  Bunyan’s  autobiography,  will  be  found  in  our  author’s 
account  of  his  visit  to  the  old  Gipsy  chief,  whose  acquaint¬ 
ance  he  made  at  St.  Boswell’s  fair,  and  to  which  the  reader 
is  referred,  (pages  309-318.)  When  did  we  ever  hear  of  an 
ordinary  Englishman  taking  so  much  trouble  to  ascertain 
whether  he  was  a  Jew ,  or  not?  No  Englishman,  it  may  be 
safely  asserted,  ever  docs  that,  or  has  ever  done  it  ;  and  no 
one  in  England  could  have  done  it,  during  Bunyan’s  time, 
but  a  Gipsy.  Bunyan  seems  to  have  been  more  or  less  ac¬ 
quainted  with  the  history  of  the  Jews,  and  how  they  were 
scattered  over  the  world,  though  not  publicly  known  to  be 
in  England,  from  which  country  they  had  been  for  centuries 
banished.  About  the  time  in  question,  the  re-admission  of 
the  Jews  was  much  canvassed  in  ecclesiastical  as  well  as 
political  circles,  and  ultimately  carried,  by  the  exertions  of 
Manasseh  Ben  Israel,  of  Amsterdam.  Under  these  circum¬ 
stances,  it  was  very  natural  for  Bunyan  to  ask  himself  wheth¬ 
er  he  belonged  to  the  Jewish  race,  since  he  had  evidently 
never  seen  a  Jew  ;  and  that  the  more  especially,  as  the 
Scottish  Gipsies  have  even  believed  themselves  to  be  Ethio¬ 
pians.  Such  a  question  is  entertained,  by  the  Gipsies,  even 

*  Bunyan  adds :  “  But,  notwithstanding  the  meanness  and  inconsiderable¬ 
ness  of  my  parents,  it  pleased  God  to  put  it  into  their  hearts  to  put  me  to 
school,  to  learn  me  both  to  read  and  write;  the  which  1  also  attained,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  rate  of  other  poor  men’s  children.” 

He  does  not  say,  “  According  to  the  rate  of  poor  men’s  children,”  but  of 
“  other  poor  men’s  children a  form  of  expression  always  used  by  the  Gip¬ 
sies  when  speaking  of  themselves,  as  distinguished  from  others.  The  lan¬ 
guage  used  by  Bunyan,  in  speaking  of  his  family,  was  in  harmony  with 
that  of  the  population  at  large  ;  but  he,  doubtless,  had  the  feelings  peculiar 
to  all  the  tribo,  with  reference  to  their  origin  and  race. 


512 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


at  the  present  day  ;  for  they  naturally  think  of  the  Jews, 
and  wonder  whether,  after  all,  their  race  may  not,  at  some 
time,  have  been  connected  with  them.  How  trifling  it  is  for 
any  one  to  assert,  that  Banyan — a  common  native  of  England 
— while  in  a  state  of  spiritual  excitement,  imagined  that  he 
was  a  Jew,  and  that  he  should,  at  a  mature  age,  have  put 
anything  so  absurd  in  his  autobiography,  and  in  so  grave  a 
manner  as  he  did  ! 

Southey,  in  his  life  of  Bunyan,  writes  :  “  Wherefore  this 
(tinkering-)  should  have  been  so  mean  and  despised  a  calling, 
is  not,  however,  apparent,  when  it  was  not  followed  as  a 
vagabond  employment,  but,  as  in  this  case,  exercised  by  one 
who  had  a  settled  habitation,  and  who,  mean  as  his  condition 
was,  was  nevertheless  able  to  put  his  son  to  school,  in  an 
age  when  very  few  of  the  poor  were  taught  to  read  and 
write.”  The  fact  is,  that  Bunyan’s  father  had,  apparently, 
a  town  beat,  which  would  give  him  a  settled  residence,  pre¬ 
vent  him  using  a  tent,  and  lead  him  to  conform  with  the 
ways  of  the  ordinary  inhabitants  ;  but,  doubtless,  he  had  his 
pass  from  the  chief  of  the  Gipsies  for  the  district.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  John  Bunyan  himself. 

How  little  does  a  late  writer  in  the  Dublin  University 
Magazine  know  of  the  feelings  of  a  mixed  Gipsy,  like 
Bunyan,  when  he  says :  “  Did  he  belong  to  the  Gipsies,  we 
have  little  doubt  that  he  would  have  dwelt  on  it,  with  a  sort 
of  spiritual  exultation  ;  and  that  of  his  having  been  called 
out  of  Egypt  would  have  been  to  him  one  of  the  proofs  of 
Divine  favour.  W e  cannot  imagine  him  suppressing  the 
fact,  or  disguising  it.”  Where  is  the  point  in  the  reviewer’s 
remarks?  His  remarks  have  no  point.  How  could  the  fact 
of  a  man  being  a  Gipsy  be  made  the  grounds  of  any  kind  of 
spiritual  exultation  ?  And  how  could  the  fact  of  the  tribe 
originating  in  Egypt  be  a  proof  of  Divine  favour  towards 
the  individual  ?  What  occasion  had  Bunyan  to  mention  he 
was  a  Gipsy  ?  What  purpose  would  it  have  served?  How 
would  it  have  advanced  his  mission  as  a  minister?  Con¬ 
sidering  the  prejudice  that  has  always  existed  against  that 
unfortunate  word  Gipsy,  it  would  have  created  a  sensation 
among  all  parties,  if  Bunyan  had  said  that  he  was  a  Gipsy. 
“What!”  the  people  would  have  asked,  “a  Gipsy  turned 
priest?  We’ll  have  the  devil  turning  priest  next !”  Con¬ 
sidering  the  many  enemies  which  the  tinker-bishop  had  to 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


513 


contend  with,  some  of  whom  even  sought  his  life,  he  would 
have  given  them  a  pretty  occasion  of  revenging  themselves 
upon  him,  had  he  said  he  was  a  Gipsy.  They  would  have 
put  the  law  in  force,  and  stretched  his  neck  for  him.*  The 
same  writer  goes  on  to  say :  “  In  one  passage  at  least — and 
we  think  there  are  more  in  Banyan’s  works — the  Gipsies 
are  spoken  of  in  such  a  way  as  would  be  most  unlikely  if 
Bunyan  thought  he  belonged  to  that  class  of  vagabonds.”  I 
am  not  aware  as  to  what  the  reviewer  alludes  ;  but,  should 
Bunyan  even  have  denounced  the  conduct  of  the  Gipsies,  in 
the  strongest  terms  imaginable,  would  that  have  been  other¬ 
wise  than  what  he  did  with  sinners  generally  ?  Should  a 
clergyman  denounce  the  ways  and  morals  of  every  man  of 
his  parish,  does  that  make  him  think  less  of  being  a  native 
of  the  parish  himself?  Should  a  man  even  denounce  his 
children  as  vagabonds,  does  that  prevent  him  being  their 
father  ?  This  writer  illustrates  what  I  have  said  of  people 
generally — that  they  are  almost  incapable  of  forming  an 
opinion  on  the  Gipsy  question,  unaided  by  facts,  and  the 
bearings  of  facts,  laid  before  them  ;  so  thoroughly  is  the 
philosophy  of  race,  as  it  progresses  and  develops,  unknown 
to  the  public  mind,  and  so  absolute  is  the  prejudice  of  caste 
against  the  Gipsy  race.f 

*  Justice  Keeling  threatened  Bunyan  with  this  fate,  even  for  preaching ; 
for  said  he :  “  If  you  do  not  submit  to  go  to  hear  divine  service,  and  leave 
your  preaching,  you  must  be  banished  the  realm  :  And  if,  after  such  a  day 
as  shall  be  appointed  you  to  be  gone,  you  shall  be  found  in  this  realm,  or 
be  found  to  come  over  again,  without  special  license  from  the  king,  you 
must  stretch  by  the  neck  for  it.  I  tell  you  plainly.” 

Sir  Matthew  Hale  tells  us  that,  on  one  occasion,  at  the  Suffolk  assizes,  no 
less  than  thirteen  Gipsies  were  executed,  under  the  old  Gipsy  statutes,  a 
few  years  before  the  Restoration. 

f  Perhaps  the  following  passage  is  the  one  alluded  to  by  this  writer:  “  I 
often,  when  these  temptations  had  been  with  force  upon  me.  did  compare 
myself  to  the  case  of  such  a  child,  whom  some  Gipsy  hath  by  force  took 
up  in  her  arms,  and  is  carrying  from  friend  and  country.”  Grace  abound¬ 
ing.  The  use  of  a  simile  like  this  confirms  the  fact  that  Bunyan  belonged 
to  the  tribe,  rather  than  that  he  did  not ;  unless  we  can  imagine  that  Gip¬ 
sies,  when  candid,  do  not  what  every  other  race  has  done — admit  the  pecu¬ 
liarities  of  theirs,  while  in  a  previous  and  barbarous  state  of  existence.  Ilis 
admission  confirms  a  fact  generally  believed,  but  sometimes  denied,  as  in 
the  case  of  the  writer  in  Blackwood's  Magazine,  mentioned  at  page  375. 

Bunyan,  doubtless,  “  dwelt  on  it  with  a  sort  of  spiritual  exultation,”  that 
he  should  have  been  “  called” — not  “  out,  of  Egypt,”  but — “  out  of  the 
tribe,”  when,  possibly,  no  others  of  it,  to  his  knowledge,  had  been  so  priv¬ 
ileged  ;  but  it  was,  certainly,  “  most  unlikely”  he  would  say  that  “  he 
belonged  to  that  class  of  vagabonds.” 

22* 


514 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


I  need  hardly  Fay  anything  further  to  show  that  Banyan 
was  a  Gipsy.  The  only  circumstance  that  is  wanting  to 
complete  the  evidence,  would  be  for  him  to  have  added  to  his 
account  of  his  descent :  “  In  other  words,  I  am  a  Gipsy.” 
But  I  have  given  reasons  for  such  verbal  admission  being,  in 
a  measure,  impossible.  I  do  not  ask  for  an  argument  in 
favour  of  Bunyan  not  being  a  Gipsy,  but  a  common  English¬ 
man  ;  for  an  argument  of  that  kind,  beyond  such  remarks  as 
I  have  commented  on,  is  impracticable  ;  but  what  I  ask  for  is, 
an  exposition  of  the  animus  of  the  man  who  does  not  wish 
that  he  should  have  been  a  Gipsy  ;  assuming  that  a  man  can 
be  met  with,  who  will  so  far  forget  what  is  due  to  the  dig¬ 
nity  of  human  nature,  as  to  commit  himself  in  any  such  way. 
That  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy  is  beyond  a  doubt.  That  he  is  a 
Gipsy,  now,  in  Abraham’s  bosom,  the  Christian  may  readily 
believe.  To  the  genius  of  a  Gipsy  and  the  grace  of  God 
combined,  the  world  is  indebted  for  the  noblest  production 
that  ever  proceeded  from  an  uninspired  man.  Impugn  it 
whoso  list. 

Of  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress,  Lord  Macaulay,  in  his  happy 
manner,  writes:  “For  magnificence,  for  pathos,  for  vehe¬ 
ment  exhortation,  for  subtle  disquisition,  for  every  purpose 
of  the  poet,  the  orator,  and  the  divine,  this  homely  dialect — 
the  dialect  of  plain  working  men — was  perfectly  sufficient. 
There  is  no  book  in  our  literature  on  which  we  would  so 
readily  stake  the  fame  of  the  old,  unpolluted,  English  lan¬ 
guage,”  as  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress  ;  “  no  book  which  shows, 
so  well,  how  rich  that  language  is  in  its  own  proper  wealth, 
and  how  little  it  has  been  improved  by  all  that  it  has  bor¬ 
rowed.”  “  Though  there  were  many  clever  men  in  England, 
during  the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century,  there  were 
only  two  great  creative  minds.  One  of  these  minds  pro¬ 
duced  the  Paradise  Lost ;  the  other,  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress” 
— the  work  of  an  English  tinkering  Gipsy. 

It  is  very  singular  that  religious  writers  should  strive  to 
make  out  that  Bunyan  was  not  a  Gipsy.  If  these  writers 
really  have  the  glory  of  God  at  heart,  they  should  rather 
attempt  to  prove  that  he  was  a  member  of  this  race,  which 
has  been  so  much  despised.  For,  thereby,  the  grace  of  God 
would  surely  be  the  more  magnified.  Have  they  never 
heard  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  poor,  to  break  the  chains  of  the  oppressed, 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


515 


and  raise  up  the  bowed-down  ?  Have  they  never  heard  that 
the  poor  publican  who,  standing  afar  off,  would  not  so  much 
as  lift  up  his  eyes  to  heaven,  but  smote  his  breast,  and  ex¬ 
claimed  :  “  God  be  merciful  to  me,  a  sinner,”  went  down 
justified  rather  than  him  who  gave  thanks  for  his  not  being 
like  other  men,  or  even  as  that  publican  ?  Have  they  never 
heard  that  God  hath  chosen  the  foolish  things  of  the  world 
to  confound  the  wise  ;  and  the  weak  things  of  the  world  to 
confound  the  things  which  are  mighty  ;  and  things  which 
are  despised,  yea,  and  things  which  are  not,  to  bring  to 
naught  things  that  are  :  that  no  flesh  should  glory  in  his 
presence  ?  I  shall  wait,  with  considei*able  curiosity,  to  see 
whether  the  next  editor,  or  biographer,  of  this  illustrious 
Gipsy  will  take  any  notice  of  the  present  work  ;  or  whether 
he  will  dispose  of  it  somewhat  in  this  strain  :  “  One  of 
Bunyan’s  modern  reviewers,  by  a  strange  mistake,  construes 
his  self-disparaging  admissions  to  mean  that  he  was  the  off¬ 
spring  of  Gipsies !” 

Sir  Walter  Scott  admits  that  Bunyan  was  most  probably 
a  “  Gipsy  reclaimed  and  Mr.  Offor,  that  “  his  father  must 
have  been  a  Gipsy.”*  But,  with  these  exceptions,  I  know 
not  if  any  writer  upon  Bunyan  has  more  than  hinted  at 
the  possibility  of  even  a  connexion  between  him  and  the  Gip¬ 
sies.  It  is  very  easy  to  account  for  all  this,  by  the  ignorance 
of  the  world  in  regard  to  the  Gipsy  tribe,  but,  above  all,  by 
the  extreme  prejudice  of  caste  which  is  entertained  against 
it.  Does  caste  exist  nowhere  but  in  India  ?  Does  an  Eng¬ 
lishman  feel  curious  to  know  what  caste  can  mean  ?  In  few 
parts  of  t lie  world  does  caste  reign  so  supreme,  as  it  does  in 
Great  Britain,  towards  the  Gipsy  nation.  What  is  it  but 
the  prejudice  of  caste  that  has  prevented  the  world  from 
acknowledging  Bunyan  to  have  been  a  Gipsy  ?  The  evidence 
of  the  fact  of  his  having  been  a  Gipsy  is  positive  enough. 
Will  any  one  say  that  he  does  not  believe  that  Bunyan 
meant  to  convey  to  the  world  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  of 

*  It  is  interesting  to  notice  what  these  two  writers  say.  If  Bunyan’s 
father  was  a  Gipsy,  we  may  reasonably  assume  that  his  mother  was  one 
likewise  ;  and,  consequently,  that  Bunyan  was  one  himself,  or  as  Sir  Wal¬ 
ter  Scott  expresses  it— a  “  Gipsy  reclaimed.”  A  Gipsy  being  a  question  of 
race,  and  not  a  matter  of  habits,  it  should  be  received  as  one  of  the  simplest 
of  elementary  truths,  that  once  a  Gipsy,  always  a  Gipsy.  We  naturally 
ask.  Why  has  not  the  fact  of  Bunyan  having  been  a  Gipsy  stood  on  record, 
for  the  last  twe  centuries  ?  and,  echo  answers,  Why  ? 


51C 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


his  being  a  Gipsy  ?  Or  that  he  does  not  believe  that  the 
tinkers  are  Gipsies  ?  Has  any  writer  on  Bunyan  ever  taken 
the  trouble  to  ascertain  who  the  tinkers  really  are  ;  and 
that,  in  consequence  of  his  investigations,  he  has  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  they  are  not  Gipsies  ?  If  no  writer  on 
the  subject  of  the  illustrious  dreamer  lias  ever  taken  that 
trouble,  to  what  must  we  attribute  the  fact  but  the  prejudice 
of  caste  ?  It  is  caste,  and  nothing  but  caste.  What  is  it 
but  the  prejudice  of  caste  that  has  led  Lord  Macaulay  to 
invent  his  story  about  the  tinkers  ?  Bor  what  he  says  of  the 
tinkers  is  a  pure  invention,  or,  at  best,  a  delusion,  on  his  part. 
What  is  it  but  the  prejudice  of  caste  that  has  prevented 
others  from  saying,  plainly,  that  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy  ?  It 
would  be  more  manly  if  they  were  to  leave  Bunyan  alone, 
than  receive  his  works,  and  damn  the  man,  that  is,  his  blood. 
It  places  them  on  the  level  of  boors,  when  they  allow  them¬ 
selves  to  be  swayed  by  the  prejudices  that  govern  boors. 
When  they  speak  of,  or  write  about,  Bunyan,  let  them  exer¬ 
cise  common  honesty,  and  receive  both  the  man  and  the 
man’s  works  :  let  them  not  be  guilty  of  petit  larceny,  or 
rather,  great  robbery,  in  the  matter. 

Southey,  in  his  life  of  Bunyan,  writes  :  “  John  Bunyan  has 
faithfully  recorded  his  own  spiritual  history.  Had  he 
dreamed  of  being  1  forever  known,’  and  taking  his  place 
among  those  who  may  be  called  the  immortals  of  the  earth, 
he  would  probably  have  introduced  more  details  of  his  tem¬ 
poral  circumstances,  and  the  events  of  his  life.  But,  glori¬ 
ous  dreamer  as  he  was,  this  never  entered  into  his  imagina¬ 
tion.*  Less  concerning  him  than  might  have  been  expected 
has  been  preserved  by  those  of  his  own  sect ;  and  it  is  not 
likely  that  anything  more  should  be  recovered  from  obliv¬ 
ion.”  Remarks  like  these  come  with  a  singular  grace  from 
a  man  with  so  many  prejudices  as  Southey.  John  Bunyan  has 
told  us  as  much  of  his  history  as  lie  dared  to  do.  It  was  a 
subject  upon  which,  in  some  respects,  he  doubtless  main¬ 
tained  a  great  reserve  ;  for  it  cannot  be  supposed  that  a 
man  occupying  so  prominent  and  popular  a  position,  as  a 
preacher  and  writer,  and  of  so  singular  an  origin,  should 

*  Although  Bunyan  probably  never  anticipated  being  held  in  high  esti¬ 
mation  by  what  are  termed  the  “  great  ones  ”  of  the  earth,  yet  what  Southey 
has  said  cannol  be  predicated  of  him,  if  we  consider  the  singularity  of  his 
origin  and  history,  and  the  popularity  which  he  enjoyed,  as  author  of  the 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


517 


have  had  no  investigations  made  into  his  history,  and  that 
of  his  family  ;  if  not  by  his  friends,  at  least,  by  his  enemies, 
who  seemed  to  have  been  capable  of  doing  anything  to  injure 
and  discredit  him.  But,  very  probably,  his  being  a  tinker 
was,  with  friends  and  enemies,  a  circumstance  so  altogether 
discreditable,  as  to  render  any  investigation  of  the  kind  per¬ 
fectly  superfluous.  In  mentioning  that  much  of  himself 
which  he  did,  Bunyan  doubtless  imagined  that  the  world 
understood,  or  would  have  understood,  what  he  meant,  and 
would,  sooner  or  later,  acknowledge  the  race  to  which  he 
belonged.  And  yet  it  has  remained  in  this  unacknowledged 
state  for  two  centuries  since  his  time.  How  unreasonable 
it  is  to  imagine  that  Bunyan  should  have  said,  in  as  many 
words,  that  he  was  a  Gipsy,  when  the  wTorld  generally  is  so 
apt  to  become  fired  with  indignation,  should  we  noiv  say  that 
he  was  one  of  the  race.  How  applicable  are  the  words  of 
his  wife,  to  Sir  Matthew  Hale,  to  the  people  of  the  present 
day  :  “  Because  he  is  a  tinker,  and  a  poor  man,  he  is  de¬ 
spised,  and  cannot  have  justice.” 

Had  Southey  exercised  that  common  sense  which  is  the 
inheritance  of  most  of  Englishmen,  and  divested  himself  of 
this  prejudice  of  caste,  which  is  likewise  their  inheritance,  he 
never  could  have  had  any  difficulty  in  forming  a  proper  idea 
of  Bunyan,  and  everything  concerning  him.  And  the  same 
may  be  said  of  any  person  at  the  present  day.  John  Bun¬ 
yan  was  simply  a  Gipsy  of  mixed  blood,  who  must  have 
spoken  the  Gipsy  language  in  great  purity  ;  for,  considering 


Pilgrim’s  Progress  ;  a  work  affecting  the  mind  of  man  in  every  age  of  tho 
world.  Of  this  work  Bunyan  writes  : 

“  My  Pilgrim’s  book  has  travelled  sea  and  land, 

Yet  could  I  never  come  to  understand 
That  it  was  slighted,  or  turned  out  of  door. 

By  any  kingdom,  were  they  rich  or  poor. 

In  France  and  Flanders,  where  men  kill  each  other. 

My  Pilgrim  is  esteemed  a  friend,  a  brother. 

In  Holland,  too,  ’tis  said,  as  I  am  told, 

My  Pilgrim  is,  with  eome,  worth  more  than  gold. 

Highlanders  and  Wild  Irish  can  agree 
My  Pilgrim  should  familiar  with  them  be. 

'Tis  in  New  England  under  such  advance, 

Receives  there  so  much  loving  countenance, 

As  to  bo  trimmed,  new  clothed,  and  decked  with  gems. 

That  it  may  show  its  features,  and  its  limbs. 

Yet  more,  so  public  doth  my  Pilgrim  walk, 

That  of  him  thousands  daily  sing  and  talk.” 


518 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  extent  to  which  it  is  spoken  in  England,  to-day,  we  can 
well  believe  that  it  was  very  pure  two  centuries  ago,  and 
that  Bunyan  might  have  written  works  even  in  that  lan¬ 
guage.  But  such  is  the  childish  prejudice  against  the  name 
of  Gipsy,  such  the  silly  incredulity  towards  the  subject,  that, 
in  Great  Britain,  and,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  with  some  people 
in  America,  one  has  nearly  as  much  difficulty  in  persuading 
others  to  believe  in  it,  as  St.  Paul  had  in  inducing  the 
Greeks  to  believe  in  the  resurrection  of  the  dead.  Why 
seemeth  it  unto  thee  incredible  that  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy  ? 
or  that  Bunyan’s  race  should  now  be  found  in  every  town, 
in  every  village,  and,  perhaps,  in  every  hamlet,  in  Scotland, 
and  in  every  sphere  of  life  ?* 

To  a  candid  and  unprejudiced  person,  it  should  afford  a 
relief,  in  thinking  of  the  immortal  dreamer,  that  he  should 
have  been  a  member  of  this  singular  race,  emerging  from  a 
state  of  comparative  barbarism,  and  struggling  upwards, 
amid  so  many  difficulties,  rather  than  he  should  have  been 
of  the  very  lowest  of  our  own  race  ;  for  in  that  case,  there  is 
an  originality  and  dignity  connected  with  him  personally, 
that  could  not  well  attach  to  him,  in  the  event  of  his  having 
belonged  to  the  dregs  of  the  common  natives.  Beyond  be¬ 
ing  a  Gipsy,  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  his  pedigree  really 
was.  His  grandfather  might  have  been  an  ordinary  native, 
even  of  fair  birth,  who,  in  a  thoughtless  moment,  might 
have  “  gone  off  with  the  Gipsies  ;”  or  his  ancestor,  on  the 
native  side  of  the  house,  might  have  been  one  of  the  “  many 
English  loiterers  ”  who  joined  the  Gipsies  on  their  arrival 
in  England,  when  they  were  “  esteemed  and  held  in  great 
admiration  ;”  or  he  might  have  been  a  kidnapped  infant ;  or 
such  a  “  foreign  tinker”  as  is  alluded  to  in  the  Spanish 
Gipsy  edicts,  and  in  the  Act  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  in  which 
mention  is  made  of  “  strangers,”  as  distinguished  from  natu- 

*  Bunsen  writes :  “  Sound  judgment  is  displayed  rather  in  an  aptness 

for  believing  what  is  historical,  than  in  a  readiness  at  denying  it . 

Shallow  minds  have  a  decided  propensity  to  fall  into  the  latter  error.  In¬ 
capability  of  believing  on  evidence  is  the  last  form  of  the  intellectual  im¬ 
becility  of  an  enervated  age.” 

A  writer  who  contributes  frequently  to  “  Notes  and  Queries,”  after  stat¬ 
ing  that  he  has  read  the  works  of  Grellmann  and  Hoyland  on  the  Gipsies, 
adds:  “  My  conclusion  is  that  the  tribes  have  no  more  right  to  nationality, 
race,  blood,  or  language,  than  the  London  thieves  have — with  their  slang, 
some  words  of  which  may  have  their  origin  in  the  Hebrew,  from  their 
dealings  with  the  lowest  order  of  Jews.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


519 


ral  born  subjects,  being  with  the  Gipsies.  The  last  is  most 
probable,  as  the  name,  Bunyan,  would  seem  to  be  of  foreign 
origin.  It  is,  therefore,  very  likely,  that  there  was  not  a 
drop  of  common  English  blood  in  Bunyan’s  veins.  John 
Bunyan  belongs  to  the  world  at  large,  and  England  is  only 
entitled  to  the  credit  of  the  formation  of  his  character.  Be 
all  that  as  it  may,  Bunyan’s  father  seems  to  have  been  a  su¬ 
perior,  and  therefore  important,  man  in  the  tribe,  from  the 
fact,  as  Southey  says,  of  his  having  “  put  his  son  to  school  in 
an  age  when  very  few  of  the  poor  were  taught  to  read  and 
write.” 

The  world  never  can  do  justice  to  Bunyan,  unless  it  takes 
him  up  as  a  Gipsy  ;  nor  can  the  Christian,  unless  he  con¬ 
siders  him  as  being  a  Gipsy,  in  Abraham’s  bosom.  Ilis 
biographers  have  not,  even  in  one  instance,  done  justice  to 
him  ;  for,  while  it  is  altogether  out  of  the  question  to  call 
him  the  “  wicked  tinker,”  the  “  depraved  Bunyan,”  it  is  un¬ 
reasonable  to  style  him  a  “  blackguard,”  as  Southey  has  done. 
He  might  have  been  a  blackguard  in  that  sense  in  which  a 
youth,  in  a  village,  is  termed  a  “young  blackguard,”  for 
being  the  ringleader  among  the  boys  ;  or  on  account  of  his 
wearing  a  ragged  coat,  and  carrying  a  hairy  wallet  on  his 
shoulder,  which,  in  a  conventional  sense,  constitute  any 
man,  in  Great  Britain,  a  blackguard.  Bunyan’s  sins  were 
confined  to  swearing,  cursing,  blaspheming,  and  lying ;  and 
were  rather  intensely  manifested  by  the  impetuosity  of  his 
character,  or  vividly  described  by  the  sincerity  of  his  piety, 
and  the  liveliness  of  his  genius,  than  deeply  rooted  in 
his  nature  ;  for  he  shook  off  the  habit  of  swearing,  (and, 
doubtless,  that  of  lying,)  on  being  severely  reproved  for 
it,  by  a  loose  and  ungodly  woman.  Three  of  the  kindred 
vices  mentioned,  (and,  we  might  add  the  fourth,  lying,)  more 
frequently  proceed  from  the  influence  of  bad  example  and 
habit,  than  from  anything  inherently  vicious,  in  a  youth 
witli  so  many  of  the  good  points  which  characterized  Bunyan. 
His  youth  was  even  marked  by  a  tender  conscience,  and  a 
strong  moral  feeling  ;  for  thus  he  speaks  of  himself  in 
“  Grace  Abounding  “  But  this  I  well  remember,  that 
though  I  could  myself  sin,  with  the  greatest  delight  and 
ease,  and  also  take  pleasure  in  the  vileness  of  my  compan¬ 
ions,  yet,  even  then,  if  I  had,  at  any  time,  seen  wicked 
things  in  those  who  professed  goodness,  it  would  make  my 


520 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


spirit  tremble.  As,  once  above  all  the  rest,  when  I  was 
in  the  height  of  vanity,  yet  hearing  one  swear  that 
was  reckoned  for  a  religious  man,  it  had  so  great  a 
stroke  upon  my  spirit,  that  it  made  my  heart  ache.”  He 
was  the  subject  of  these  experiences  before  he  was  ten 
years  of  age.  It  is  unnecessary  to  speak  of  his  dancing, 
ringing  bells,  and  playing  at  tip-cat  and  hockey.  Now,  let 
us  see  what  was  Bunyan’s  moral  character.  He  was  not  a 
drunkard;  and  he  says:  “I  know  not  whether  there  be 
such  a  thing  as  a  woman  breathing  under  the  copes  of 
heaven,  but  by  their  apparel,  their  children,  or  by  common 
fame,  except  my  wife.”  And  he  continues :  “  Had  not  a 
miracle  of  precious  grace  prevented,  I  had  laid  myself  open 
even  to  the  stroke  of  those  laws  which  bring  some  to  dis¬ 
grace  and  open  shame,  before  the  face  of  the  world.”  The 
meaning  of  this  is,  evidently,  that  he  never  stole  anything  ; 
but  that  it  was  “by  a  miracle  of  precious  grace”  he  was  pre¬ 
vented  from  doing  it.  In  what  sense,  then,  was  Bunyan  a 
blackguard  ?  There  was  never  such  occasion  for  him  to  say 
of  himself,  what  John  Newton  said  of  himself,  as  a  criminal 
passed  him,  on  the  way  to  the  gallows  :  “There  goes  John 
Bunyan,  but  for  the  gi'ace  of  God.”  But  such  was  the 
depth  of  Bunyan’s  piety,  that  hardly  any  one  thought  and 
spoke  more  disparagingly  of  himself  than  he  did  ;  although 
he  would  defend  himself,  with  indignation,  against  unjust 
charges  brought  against  him  ;  for,  however  peaceable  and 
humble  he  might  be,  he  would  turn  most  manfully  upon  his 
enemies,  when  they  baited  or  badgered  him.  “  It  began, 
therefore,  to  be  rumoured,  up  and  down  among  the  people, 
that  I  was  a  witch,  a  Jesuit,  a  highwayman,  and  the  like. 

.  .  .  .  I  also  call  those  fools  and  knaves  that  have 
thus  made  it  anything  of  their  business  to  affirm  any  of 
these  things  aforesaid  of  me,  namely,  that  I  have  been 
naught  with  other  women,  or  the  like.  .  .  .  My  foes 

have  missed  their  mark  in  this  their  shooting  at  me.  I  am 
not  the  man.  I  wish  that  they  themselves  be  guiltless.  If 
all  the  fornicators  and  adulterers  in  England  were  hanged 
up  by  the  neck  till  they  be  dead,  John  Bunyan,  the  object  of 
their  envy ,  would  be  still  alive  and  well.”  The  style  of  his 
language  even  indicated  the  Gipsy  ;  for  English  Gipsies,  as 
Mr.  Borrow  justly  remarks,  speak  the  English  language 
much  better  than  the  natives  of  the  lower  classes  ;  for  this 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


521 


apparent  reason,  tliat  they  have  not  the  dialect  of  any  par¬ 
ticular  part  of  England,  which  would  be,  were  they  always 
to  have  resided  in  a  particular  place.  It  must  have  been 
more  so  before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  up¬ 
wards  of  a  hundred  years  after  the  arrival  of  the  Gipsies  in 
England  ;  for,  in  acquiring  the  English  language,  they  would 
keep  clear  of  many  of  the  rude  dialects  that  so  commonly 
prevail  in  that  country.  But  Bunyan’s  language  was,  doubt¬ 
less,  drawn  principally  from  the  Scriptures. 

The  illustrious  pilgrim  had  many  indignities  cast  upon 
him,  by  the  lower  and  unthinking  classes  of  the  population, 
and  by  Quakers  and  strict  Baptists.  ’Twas  a  man  like 
John  Owen  who  knew  how  to  appreciate  and  respect  him  ; 
for,  said  he  to  Charles  II.  :  “  I  would  readily  part  with  all 
my  learning,  could  I  but  preach  like  the  tinker.”  And 
what  was  it  that  supported  Bunyan,  amid  all  the  abuse  and 
obloquy  to  which  he  was  exposed,  as  he  obeyed  the  call 
of  God,  and  preached  the  gospel,  in  season  and  out  of  season, 
to  every  creature  around  him?  When  they  sneered  at  his 
origin,  and  the  occupation  from  which  he  had  risen,  he 
said  :  “  Such  insults  I  freely  bind  unto  me,  as  an  ornament, 
among  the  rest  of  my  reproaches,  till  the  Lord  shall  wipe 
them  olf  at  his  coming.”  And  again  :  “  The  poor  Christian 
hath  something  to  answer  them  that  reproach  him  for  his 
ignoble  pedigree,  and  shortness  of  the  glory  of  the  wisdom 
of  this  world.  I  fear  God.  This  is  the  highest  and  most 
noble  ;  he  hath  the  honour,  the  life,  and  glory  that  is  last¬ 
ing.”* 

In  Great  Britain,  the  off-scourings  of  the  earth  can  say 
who  they  are,  and  no  prejudices  are  entertained  against 

*  That  the  rabble,  or  “  fellows  of  the  baser  sort,”  should  have  pelted 
Bunyan  with  all  sorts  of  offensive  articles,  when  he  commenced  to  preach 
the  gospel,  is  what  could  naturally  have  been  expected ;  but  it  sounds 
strange  to  read  what  he  has  put  on  record  of  the  abuse  heaped  upon  him, 
by  people  professing  to  be  the  servants  of  Him  “  in  whom  there  is  neither 
Jew  nor  Greek,  bond  nor  free,  male  nor  female.”  See  with  what  Christian 
humility  lie  alludes  to  such  treatment,  as  contrasted  with  the  manly  indig¬ 
nation  which  ho  displayed  in  repelling  slanders.  lie  speaks  of  “  the  Lord 
wiping  off  such  insults  at  his  coming;”  when  his  enemies,  with  the  utmost 
familiarity  and  assurance,  may  approach  the  judgment-seat,  and  demand 
their  crowns.  “  Lord,  Lord,  have  we  not  prophesied  in  thy  name?  and  in 
thy  name  have  cast  out  devils  ?  and  in  thy  name  done  many  wonderful 
works  ?”  And  it  may  be  answered  unto  them  :  “  I  never  knew  you  ;  de¬ 
part  from  me,  yc  that  work  iniquity.” 


622 


DISQUISITION  ON  TJIE  GIPSIES. 


them.  Half-caste  Hindoos,  Malays,  Hottentots,  and  Negroes, 
are  “  sent  home,”  to  be  educated,  and  made  pets  of,  and 
have  the  choice  of  white  women  given  to  them  for  wives  ; 
but  the  children  of  a  Scottish  Christian  Gipsy  gentleman, 
or  of  a  Scottish  Christian  Gipsy  gentlewoman,  dare  not  say 
who  they  arc,  were  it  almost  to  save  their  lives.  Scottish 
people  will  wonder  at  what  caste  in  India  can  mean,  de¬ 
plore  its  existence,  and  pray  to  God  to  remove  it,  that  “  the 
gospel  may  have  free  course  and  be  glorified  yet  scowl — 
silently  and  sullenly  scowl — at  the  bare  mention  of  John  Bun- 
yan  having  been  a  Gipsy  !  Scottish  religious  journals  will  not 
tolerate  the  idea  to  appear  in  their  columns !  To  such  peo¬ 
ple  I  would  say,  Offer  up  no  more  prayers  to  Almighty  God,  to 
remove  caste  from  India,  until  they  themselves  have  removed 
from  the  land  this  prejudice  of  caste,  that  hangs  like  an 
incubus  upon  so  many  of  their  fellow-subjects  at  home.  It 
is  quite  time  enough  to  carry  such  petitions  to  the  Deity, 
when  every  Scottish  Gipsy  can  make  a  return  of  himself  in 
the  census,  or  proclaim  himself  a  Gipsy  at  the  cross,  or  from 
the  house-top,  if  need  be  ;  or,  at  least,  after  steps  have  been 
taken  by  the  public  to  that  end.  But  some  of  my  country¬ 
men  may  say  :  “  What  are  we  to  do,  under  the  circum¬ 
stances  ?”  And  I  reply  :  “  Endeavour  to  be  yourselves,  and 
judge  of  this  subject  as  it  ought  to  be  judged.  You  can,  at 
least,  try  to  guard  against  your  children  acquiring  your 
own  prejudices.”  To  the  rising  town  generation,  I  would 
look  with  more  hope  to  see  a  better  feeling  entertained  for 
the  name  of  Gipsy.  But  I  look  with  more  confidence  to 
the  English  than  Scottish  people  ;  for  this  question  of  “  folk” 
is  very  apt  to  rankle  and  fester  in  the  Scottish  mind.  I 
wish,  then,  that  the  British,  and  more  especially  the 
Scottish,  public  should  consider  itself  as  cited  before  the 
bar  of  the  wrorld,  and  not  only  the  bar  of  the  world,  but 
the  bar  of  posterity,  to  plead  on  the  Gipsy  question,  that  it 
may  be  seen  if  this  is  the  only  instance  in  which  justice  is 
not  to  be  done  to  a  part  of  the  British  population.  With 
the  evidence  furnished  in  the  present  work,  I  submit  the 
name  of  Bunyan,  as  a  case  in  point,  to  test  the  principle 
at  issue.  Let  British  people  beware  how  they  approach 
this  subject,  for  there  are  great  principles  involved  in  it. 
The  social  emancipation  of  the  Gipsies  is  a  question  which 
British  people  have  to  consider  for  the  future. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


523 


The  day  is  gone  by  when  it  cannot  be  said  who  John 
Bunyan  was.  In  Cowper’s  time,  his  name  dare  not  be  men¬ 
tioned,  “  lest  it  should  move  a  sneer.”  Let  us  hope  that  we 
are  living  in  happier  times.  Tinkering  was  Banyan’s  occu¬ 
pation  ;  his  race  the  Gipsy — a  fact  that  cannot  be  questioned. 
His  having  been  a  Gipsy  adds,  by  contrast,  a  lustre  to  his 
name,  and  reflects  an  immortality  upon  his  character ;  and 
he  stands  out,  from  among  all  the  men  of  the  latter  half  of 
the  seventeenth  century,  in  all  his  solitary  grandeur,  a  mon¬ 
ument  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  a  prodigy  of  genius.  Let 
us,  then,  enroll  John  Bunyan  as  the  first  (that  is  known  to 
the  world)  of  eminent  Gipsies,  the  prince  of  allegorists,  and 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  men  and  Christians.  What 
others  of  this  race  there  may  be  who  have  distinguished 
themselves  among  mankind,  are  known  to  God  and,  it  may 
be,  some  of  the  Gipsies.  The  saintly  Doctor  to  whom  I  have 
alluded  was  one  of  this  singular  people ;  and  one  beyond 
question,  for  his  admission  of  the  fact  cannot  be  denied  by 
any  one.  Any  life  of  John  Bunyan,  or  any  edition  of  his 
works,  that  does  not  contain  a  record  of  the  fact  of  his 
having  been  a  Gipsy,  lacks  the  most  important  feature  con¬ 
nected  with  the  man  that  makes  everything  relating  to  him 
personally  interesting  to  mankind.  It  should  even  contain 
a  short  dissertation  on  the  Gipsies,  and  have,  as  a  frontis¬ 
piece,  a  Gipsy’s  camp,  with  all  its  appurtenances.  The 
reader  may  believe  that  such  a  thing  may  be  seen,  and  that, 
perhaps,  not  before  long. 

It  strikes  me  as  something  very  singular,  that  Mr.  Borrow, 
“  whose  acquaintance  with  the  Gipsy  race,  in  general,  dates 
from  a  very  early  period  of  his  life  who  “  has  lived  more 
with  Gipsies  than  Scotchmen  and  than  whom  “  no  one 
ever  enjoyed  better  opportunities  for  a  close  scrutiny  of  their 
ways  and  habits,”  should  have  told  us  so  little  about  the 
Gipsies.  In  all  his  writings  on  the  Gipsies,  he  alludes  to 
two  mixed  Gipsies  only — the  Spanish  half-pay  captain,  and 
the  English  flaming  tinman — in  a  way  as  if  these  were  the 
merest  of  accidents,  and  meant  nothing.  He  has  told  us 
nothing  of  the  Gipsies  but  what  was  known  before,  with 
the  exception,  as  far  as  my  memory  serves  me,  of  the  custom 
of  the  Spanish  Gipsy,  dressing  her  daughter  in  such  a  way 
as  to  protect  her  virginity  ;  the  existence  of  the  tribe,  in  a 
civilized  state,  in  Moscow ;  and  the  habit  of  the  members  of 


524 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  race  possessing  two  names  ;  all  of  which  are,  doubtless, 
interesting  pieces  of  information.  The  Spanish  Gipsy  mar¬ 
riage  ceremony  was  described,  long  before  him,  by  Dr. 
Bright ;  and  Twiss,  as  far  back  as  1728,  bears  testimony  to 
the  virtue  of  Gipsy  females,  inasmuch  as  they  were  not  to 
be  procured  in  any  way.  Twiss  also  bears  very  positive 
testimony  on  a  point  to  which  Mr.  Borrow  has  not  alluded, 
viz.  :  the  honesty  of  Spanish  Gipsy  innkeepers,  in  one  re¬ 
spect,  at  least,  that,  although  he  frequently  left  his  linen, 
spoons,  &c.,  at  their  mercy,  he  never  lost  an  article  belong¬ 
ing  to  him.  He  alludes,  in  his  travels,  to  the  subject  of  the 
Gipsies  incidentally  ;  and  his  testimony  is,  therefore,  worthy 
of  every  credit,  on  the  points  on  which  he  speaks.  In  Mr. 
Borrow’s  writings  upon  the  Gipsies,  we  find  only  sketches 
of  certain  individuals  of  the  race,  whom  he  seems  to  have 
fallen  in  with,  and  not  a  proper  account  of  the  nation.  These 
writings  have  done  more  injury  to  the  tribe  than,  perhaps, 
anything  that  ever  appeared  on  the  subject.  I  have  met 
with  Gipsies — respectable  young  men — who  complained  bit¬ 
terly  of  Mr.  Borrow’s  account  of  their  race  ;  and  they  did 
that  with  good  reason  ;  for  his  attempt  at  generalization  on 
the  subject  of  the  people,  is  as  great  a  curiosity  as  ever  I  set 
my  eyes  upon.  How  unsatisfactory  are  Mr.  Borrow’s  opin¬ 
ions  on  the  Gipsy  question,  when  he  speaks  of  the  “  deca¬ 
dence  ”  of  the  race,  when  it  is  only  passing  from  its  first  stage 
of  existence — the  tent.  This  he  does  in  his  Appendix  to  the 
Romany  Bye  ;  and  it  is  nearly  all  that  can  be  drawn  from 
his  writings  on  the  Gipsies,  in  regard  to  their  future  his¬ 
tory. 

1  do  not  expect  to  meet  among  American  people,  generally, 
with  the  prejudice  against  the  name  of  Gipsy  that  prevails 
in  Europe  ;  for,  in  Europe,  the  prejudice  is  traditional — a 
question  of  the  nursery — while,  in  America,  it  is  derived, 
for  the  most  part,  from  novels.  American  people  will,  of 
course,  form  their  own  opinion  upon  the  tented  or  any  other 
kind  of  Gipsies,  as  their  behaviour  warrants ;  but  what 
prejudice  can  they  have  for  the  Gipsy  race  as  such?  As  a 
race,  it  is,  physically,  as  fine  a  one  as  ever  came  out  of  Asia  ; 
although,  at  the  present  day,  it  is  so  much  mixed  with  the 
white  blood,  as  hardly  to  be  observable  in  many,  and  abso¬ 
lutely  not  so  in  others,  who  follow  the  ordinary  vocations  of 
other  men.  What  prejudice  can  Americans  have  against 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


625 


Gipsy  blood  as  sucli  ?  What  prejudice  can  they  have  to  the 
Maryland  farmers  who  have  been  settled,  for  at  least  two  gen¬ 
erations,  near  Annapolis,  merely  because  they  are  Gipsies  and 
speak  Gipsy  ?  If  there  is  any  people  in  the  world  who  might 
be  expected  to  view  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies  dispassionately, 
it  ought  to  be  the  people  of  America  ;  for  surely  they  have 
prejudices  enough  in  regard  to  race  ;  prejudices,  the  object 
of  which  is  independent  of  character  or  condition — some¬ 
thing  that  stares  them  in  the  face,  and  cannot  be  got  rid  of. 
If  they  have  the  practical  sagacity  to  perceive  the  bearings 
of  the  Gipsy  question,  they  should  at  once  take  it  up,  and 
treat  it  in  the  manner  which  the  age  demands.  They  have 
certainly  an  opportunity  of  stealing  a  march  upon  English 
people  in  this  matter. 

Part  of  what  I  have  said  in  reference  to  Bunyan,  I  was  de¬ 
sirous  of  having  inserted  in  a  respectable  American  relig¬ 
ious  journal,  but  I  did  not  succeed  in  it.  “  It  would  take  up 
too  much  room  in  the  paper,  and  give  rise  to  more  discus¬ 
sion  than  they  could  afford  to  print.” — “  Perhaps  you  would 
not  wish  it  to  be  said  that  John  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy  ?” — “  Oh, 
not  at  all,”  replied  the  editor,  colouring  up  a  little.  I  found 
that  several  of  these  papers  devoted  a  pretty  fair  portion 
of  their  space  to  such  articles  as  funny  monkey  stories,  and 
descriptions  of  rat-trap  and  cow-tail-holder  patents  ;  but  for 
anything  of  so  very  little  importance  as  that  which  referred 
to  John  Bunyan,  they  could  afford  no  room  whatever.  Who 
cared  to  know  who  John  Bunyan  was  ?  What  purpose  could 
it  serve?  Who  would  be  benefited  by  it?  But  funny  mon¬ 
key  stories  are  pleasant  reading  ;  every  housewife  should 
know  how  to  keep  down  her  rats  ;  and  every  farmer  should 
be  taught  how  to  keep  his  cows’  tails  from  whisking  their 
milk  in  his  face,  while  it  is  being  drawn  into  the  pail.  Not 
succeeding  with  the  religious  papers,  I  found  expression  to 
my  sentiments  in  one  of  the  “  ungodly  weeklies,”  which  de¬ 
vote  their  columns  to  rats,  monkeys,  and  cows,  and  a  little 
to  mankind  ;  and  there  I  found  a  feeling  of  sympathy  for 
Bunyan.  Let  it  not  be  said,  in  after  times,  that  the  descend¬ 
ants  of  the  Puritans  allowed  themselves  to  be  frightened  by 
a  scare-crow,  or  put  to  flight  by  the  shake  of  a  rag. 

I  am  afraid  that  the  native-born  quarrelsomeness  of  dis¬ 
position  about  “  folk,”  and  things  in  general,  which  charac¬ 
terizes  Scottish  people,  will  prove  a  bar  to  the  Gipsies  own- 


52G 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


ing  themselves  up  in  Scotland.  Go  into  any  Scottish  village 
you  like,  and  ascertain  the  feelings  which  the  inhabitants 
entertain  for  each  other,  and  you  will  find  that  such  a  one 
is  a  “  poor  grocer  body  that  another  belongs  to  a  “  shoe¬ 
maker  pack,”  another  to  a  “  tailor  pack,”  another  to  a  “cadger 
pack,”  another  to  a  “  collier  pack,”  and  another  to  a  “  low 
Tinkler  pack  ;”  another  to  a  “  bad  nest,”  and  another  to  a 
“  very  bad  nest.”  And  it  is  pretty  much  the  same  with  the 
better  classes.  Now,  how  could  the  Gipsy  tribe  live  amid 
such  elements,  if  it  did  not  keep  everything  connected  with 
itself  hidden  from  all  the  other  “  packs”  surrounding  it? 
And  is  it  consonant  with  reason  to  say,  that  a  Scotchman 
should  be  rated  as  standing  at  the  bottom  of  all  the  various 
“  packs”  and  “  nests,”  simply  because  he  has  Gipsy  blood 
in  his  veins  ?  Yet,  I  meet  with  Scotchmen  in  the  New 
World,  who  express  such  a  feeling  towards  the  Gipsies. 
This  quarrelling  about  “  folk”  I’eigns  supreme  in  Scotland  ; 
and,  what  is  worse,  it  is  brought  with  the  people  to  Am¬ 
erica.  It  is  inherent  in  them  to  be  personal  and  intolerant, 
among  themselves,  and  to  talk  of,  and  sneer  at,  each  other, 
and  “cast  up  things.”  In  that  respect,  a  community  of 
Scotch  people  presents  a  peculiarity  of  mental  feeling  that 
is  hardly  to  be  found  in  one  of  any  other  people.  When 
they  come  together,  in  social  intercourse,  there  is  frequently, 
if  not  generally,  a  hearty,  if  not  a  boisterous,  flow  of  feeling, 
and,  if  the  bottle  contributes  to  the  entertainment,  a  foam 
upon  the  surface  ;  but  the  under-tow  and  ground-swell  are 
frequently  long  in  subsiding.  Even  in  America,  where  they 
are  reputed  to  have  the  clanishness  of  Jews,  we  will  find 
within  their  respective  circles,  more  heart-burnings,  jealous¬ 
ies,  envyings,  and  quarrellings,  (but  little  or  no  Irish  fight¬ 
ing,  for  they  are  rather  given  to  “  taking  care  of  their 
characters,”)  than  is  to  be  found  among  almost  any  other 
people.  At  the  best,  there  may  be  said  to  be  an  armed 
truce  always  to  be  found  oxisting  among  them.  Still,  all 
that  is  not  known  to  people  outside  of  these  circles  ;  for 
those  within  them  are  animated  by  a  common  national 
sentiment,  which  leads  them  to  conceal  such  feelings  from 
others,  so  as  to  “  uphold  the  credit  of  their  country,”  where- 
ever  they  go.  It  will  be  a  difficult  matter  to  get  the  Gip¬ 
sies  heartily  acknowledged  among  such  elements  as  equals  ; 
for  it  makes  many  a  native  Scot  wild,  to  tell  him  that  there 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


527 


are  Scottish  Gipsies  as  good,  if  not  better,  men  than  he  is, 
or  any  kith  or  kin  that  belongs  to  him. 

And  yet,  it  is  not  the  Scottish  gentleman — the  gentleman 
by  birth,  rearing,  education,  mind,  or  manners — who  will  be 
backward  to  assist  in  raising  up,  and  dignifying,  the  name  of 
Gipsy.  No  ;  it  will  be  the  low-minded  and  ignorant  Scots  ; 
people  who  are  always  either  fawning  upon,  or  sneering  at, 
those  above  them,  or  trampling,  or,  attempting  to  trample, 
upon  those  below  them.  It  is  very  apt  to  be  that  class 
whibh  Lord  Jeffrey  describes  as  “  having  a  double  allow¬ 
ance  of  selfishness,  with  a  top-dressing  of  pedantry  and  con¬ 
ceit,”  and  some  of  the  “  but  and  ben”  gentry,  who  will  sneer 
most  at  the  word  Gipsy.  It  is  the  flunkey,  who  lives  and 
brings  up  his  family  upon  the  cast-off  clothes  and  broken 
victuals  of  others,  and  but  for  whom  such  things  would  find 
their  way  to  the  rag-basket  and  the  pigs  ;  ’tis  he  and  his 
children  who  are  too  often  the  most  difficult  to  please  in  the 
matter  of  descent,  and  the  most  likely  to  perpetuate  the 
prejudice  against  the  Gipsy  tribe. 

1  have  taken  some  trouble  to  ascertain  the  feelings  of 
Scotchmen  in  America  towards  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  such  as 
they  are  represented  in  these  pages  ;  and  I  find  that,  among 
the  really  educated  and  liberally  brought  up  classes,  there 
are  not  to  be  discovered  those  prejudices  against  them,  that 
are  expressed  by  the  lower  classes,  and  especially  those  from 
country  places.  It  is  natural  for  the  former  kind  of  people 
to  take  the  most  liberal  view  of  a  question  like  the  present ; 
for  they  are,  in  a  measure,  satisfied  with  their  position  in 
life  ;  while,  with  the  lower  classes,  it  is  a  feeling  of  restless 
discontentment  that  leads  them  to  strive  to  get  some  one 
under  them.  No  one  would  seem  to  like  to  beat  the  bottom 
of  any  society  ;  and  nowhere  less  so  than  in  Scotland.  A 
good  education  and  up-bringing,  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
world,  likewise  give  a  person  a  more  liberal  cast  of  mind, 
wherewith  to  form  an  opinion  upon  the  subject  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  ;  and  it  is  upon  such  that  I  would  mainly  rely  in  an 
attempt  to  raise  up  the  name  of  Gipsy.  Among  the  lower 
classes  of  my  own  countrymen,  I  find  individuals  all  that 
could  be  desired  in  the  matter  of  esteeming  the  Gipsies,  ac¬ 
cording  to  the  characters  they  bear,  and  the  positions  they 
occupy  in  life  ;  but  they  are  exceptions  to  the  classes  to 
which  they  belong.  Here  is  a  specimen  of  the  kind  of  Scot 


528 


DISQUISITION'  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


the  most  difficult  to  break  in  to  entertaining  a  proper  feel¬ 
ing  upon  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies  : 

By  birth,  he  is  a  child  of  that  dependent  class  that  gets  a 
due  share  of  the  broken  victuals  and  cast-off  clothes  of  other 
people.  His  parents  are  decent  and  honest  enough  people, 
but  very  conceited  and  self-sufficient.  Any  person  in  the 
shape  of  a  mechanic,  a  labourer,  or  a  peasant,  appears  as 
nobody  to  them  ;  although,  in  independence,  and  even  cir¬ 
cumstances,  they  are  not  to  be  compared  to  many  a  peasant. 
The  “  oldest  bairn”  takes  his  departure  for  the  Hew  World, 
“  with  the  firm  determination  to  show  to  the  world  that  he  is 
a  man,”  and  “  teach  the  Yankees  something.”  The  first 
thing  he  does  to  “  show  the  world  that  he  is  a  man,”  is  to 
sneer,  behave  rudely,  and  attempt  to  pick  quarrels  with  a 
better  class  of  his  own  countrymen,  when  lie  comes  in  con¬ 
tact  with  them.  Providence  has  not  been  over-indulgent 
with  him  in  the  matters  of  perceptors  or  reflectors  ;  for,  what 
little  he  knows,  he  has  acquired  in  the  manner  that  chickens 
pick  up  their  food,  when  it  is  placed  before  them.  But  he  has 
been  gifted  with  a  wonderful  amount  of  self-conceit,  which 
nothing  can  break  down  in  him,  however  much  it  may  bo 
abashed  for  the  moment.  Ho  one  boasts  more  of  his  “  fami¬ 
ly,”  to  those  who  do  not  know  who  his  family  are,  although 
his  family  were  brought  up  in  a  cage,  and  so  small  a  cage, 
that  some  of  them  must  have  roosted  on  the  spars  overhead 
at  night.  Ho  one  is  more  independent,  none  more  patriotic  ; 
no  one  boasts  more  of  Wallace  and  Bruce,  Burns  and  Scott, 
and  all  the  worthies  ;  to  him  there  is  no  place  in  the  world 
like  “  auld  Scotland  yet;”  no  one  glories  more  in  “  the  noble 
qualities  of  the  Scot ;”  and  none’s  face  burns  with  more  im¬ 
portance  in  upholding,  unchallenged,  what  he  claims  to  be 
Ids  character  ;  yet  the  individual  is  a  compound  of  conceit 
and  selfishness,  meanness  and  sordidness,  and  is  estimated, 
wherever  he  goes,  as  a  “  perfect  sweep.”  Although  no  one 
is  more  given  to  toasting,  “  Brithers  a’  the  world  o’er,”  and, 
“  A  man’s  a  man  for  a’  that,”  yet  speak  of  the  Gipsies  to  him, 
and  he  exclaims:  “Thank  God!  there’s  no  a  drap  o’ 
Gipsy  blood  in  me  ;  no  one  drap  o’t!”  Hot  only  is  he  un¬ 
able  to  comprehend  the  subject,  but  he  is  unwilling  to  hear 
the  word  Gipsy  mentioned.  In  short,  he  turns  up  his  nose 
at  the  subject,  and  howls  like  a  dog.* 

*  It  is  interesting  to  compare  this  feeling  with  that  of  the  lowest  order 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


529 


It  is  the  better  kind  of  Scottish  people,  in  whatever  sphere 
of  life  they  are  to  be  found,  on  whom  the  greatest  reliance 
is  to  be  placed  in  raising  up  and  dignifying  the  word  Gipsy. 
This  peculiar  family  of  mankind  has  been  fully  three  centu¬ 
ries  and  a  half  in  the  country,  and  it  is  high  time  that  it 
should  be  acknowledged,  in  some  form  or  other  ;  high  time, 
certainly,  that  we  should  know  something  about  it.  To  an 
intelligent  people  it  must  appear  utterly  ridiculous  that  a 
prejudice  is  to  be  entertained  against  any  Scotchman,  with¬ 
out  knowing  who  that  Scotchman  is,  merely  on  account  of 
his  blood.  Nor  will  any  intelligent  Scotchman,  after  the 
appearance  of  this  work,  be  apt  to  say  that  he  does  not  un¬ 
derstand  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies  ;  or  that  they  cease  to 
be  Gipsies  by  leaving  the  tent,  or  by  a  change  of  character 
or  habits,  or  by  their  blood  getting  mixed.  It  will  not  do 
for  any  one  to  snap  at  the  heels  of  this  question  :  he  must 
look  at  it  steadily,  and  approach  it  with  a  clear  head,  a  firm 
lio nd,  and  a  Christian  heart,  and  remove  this  stigma  that  lias 
been  allowed  to  attacli  to  his  country.  No  one  in  particu¬ 
lar  can  be  blamed  for  the  position  which  the  Gipsies  occupy 
in  the  country  :  let  by-gones  be  by-gones  ;  let  us  look  to  the 
future  for  that  expression  of  opinion  which  the  subject  calls 
for.  This  much  I  feel  satisfied  of,  that  if  the  Gipsy  subject 
is  properly  handled,  it  would  result  in  the  name  becoming  as 
much  an  object  of  respect  and  attachment  in  many  of  the 
race,  as  it  is  now  considered  a  reproach  in  others.  There 
is  much  that  is  interesting  in  the  name,  and  nothing  neces¬ 
sarily  low  or  vulgar  associated  with  it ;  although  there  is 
much  that  is  wild  and  barbarous  connected  with  the  descent, 
which  is  peculiar  to  the  descent  of  all  original  tribes.  It  is 
unnecessary  to  say,  that  in  a  part  of  the  race,  we  still  find 
much  that  is  wild,  and  barbarous,  and  roguish. 

The  latter  part  of  the  Gipsy  nation,  whether  settled  or 
itinerant,  must  be  reached  indirectly,  for  reasons  which  have 
already  been  given  ;  for  it  does  not  serve  much  purpose  to 
interfere  too  directly  with  them,  as  Gipsies.  We  should 
bring  a  reflective  influence  to  bear  upon  them,  by  holding 
up  to  their  observation,  some  of  their  own  race  in  respect¬ 
able  positions  in  life,  and  respected  by  the  world,  as  men, 

of  Spaniards,  as  described  by  Mr.  Borrow.  “  The  outcast  of  the  prison  and 
the  presidio,  who  calls  himself  Spaniard,  would  feel  insulted  by  being  termed 
Gitano,  and  would  thank  God  that  he  is  not.”  /'aye  38G. 

23 


530 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


though  not  known  to  be  Gipsies.  I  could  propose  no  better 
plan  to  be  adopted,  with  some  of  these  people,  than  to  give 
them  a  copy  of  the  present  work,  along  with  the  Pilgrim’s 
Progress,  containing  a  short  account  of  the  Gipsies,  and  a 
Gipsy’s  encampment  for  a  frontispiece.  The  world  may 
well  believe  that  the  Gipsies  would  read  both  of  them,  and 
be  greatly  benelited  by  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress  ;  for,  as  a 
race,  they  are  exceedingly  vain  about  anything  connected 
with  themselves.  Said  I  to  some  English  Gipsies  :  “  You 
are  the  vainest  people  in  the  world  ;  you  think  a  vast  deal 
of  yourselves.”  “  There  is  good  reason  for  that,”  they  re¬ 
plied  ;  “  if  we  do  not  think  something  of  ourselves,  there 
are  no  others  to  do  it  for  us.”  Now  since  John  Bunyan  has 
become  so  famous  throughout  the  world,  and  so  honoured  by 
all  sects  and  parties,  what  an  inimitable  instrument  Provi¬ 
dence  has  placed  in  our  hands  wherewith  to  raise  up  the 
name  of  Gipsy  !  Through  him  we  can  touch  the  heart  of 
Christendom  !  I  am  well  aware  that  the  Church  of  Scot¬ 
land  has,  or  at  least  had,  a  mission  among  the  itinerant 
Scottish  Gipsies.  In  addition  to  the  means  adopted  by  this 
mission,  to  improve  these  Gipsies,  it  would  be  well  to  take 
such  steps  as  I  have  suggested,  so  as  to  raise  up  the  name  of 
Gipsy.  For,  in  this  way,  the  Gipsies,  of  all  classes,  would 
see  that  they  are  not  outcasts  ;  but  that  the  prejudices  which 
people  entertain  for  them  are  applicable  to  their  ways  of 
life,  only,  and  not  to  their  blood  or  descent,  tribe  or  language. 
Their  hearts  would  then  become  more  easily  touched,  their 
affections  more  readily  secured  ;  and  the  attempt  made  to 
improve  them  would  have  a  much  better  chance  of  being 
successful.  A  little  judgment  is  necessary  in  conducting  an 
intercourse  with  the  wild  Gipsy,  or,  indeed,  any  kind  of 
Gipsy  ;  it  is  very  advisable  to  speak  well  of  “  the  blood,” 
and  never  to  confound  the  race  with  the  conduct  of  part  of 
it.  There  is  hardly  anything  that  can  give  a  poor  Gipsy 
greater  pleasure  than  to  tell  him  something  about  his  people, 
and  particularly  should  they  be  in  a  respectable  position  in 
life,  and  be  attached  to  their  nation.  It  serves  no  great 
purpose  to  appear  too  serious  with  such  a  person,  for  that 
soon  tires  him.  It  is  much  better  to  keep  him  a  little  buoy¬ 
ant  and  cheerful,  with  anecdotes  and.  stories,  for  that  is  his 
natural  character  ;  and  to  take  advantage  of  occasional  op¬ 
portunities,  to  slip  in  advices  that  are  to  be  of  use  to  him. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


531 


What  is  called  long-faceaness  is  entirely  thrown  away  upon 
a  Gipsy  of  this  kind. 

I  am  very  much  inclined  to  believe  that  a  Gipsy,  well  up 
in  the  scale  of  Scottish  society,  experiences,  in  one  respect, 
nearly  the  same  feelings  in  coming  in  contact  with  a  wild 
Gipsy,  that  are  peculiar  to  any  other  person.  These  are  of 
a  very  singular  nature.  At  first,  we  feel  as  if  we  were  go¬ 
ing  into  the  lair  of  a  wild  animal,  or  putting  our  finger  into 
a  snake’s  mouth  ;  such  is  the  result  of  the  prejudice  in  which 
we  have  been  reared  from  infancy ;  but  these  feelings  be¬ 
come  greatly  modified  as  we  get  accustomed  to  the  people. 
The  world  has  never  had  the  opportunity  of  fairly  contem¬ 
plating  any  other  kind  of  Gipsy  ;  hence  the  extreme  preju¬ 
dice  against  the  name.  But  when  we  get  accustomed  to 
meet  with  other  kinds  of  Gipsies,  and  have  associations 
with  them,  the  feeling  of  prejudice  changes  to  that  of  de¬ 
cided  interest  and  attachment.  I  have  met  with  various 
Scottish  Gipsies  of  the  female  sex,  in  America,  and,  among 
others,  one  who  could  sit  any  day  for  an  ideal  likeness  of  the 
mother  of  Burns.  She  takes  little  of  the  Gipsy  in  her  ap¬ 
pearance.  There  is  another,  taking  greatly  after  the  Gipsy, 
born  in  Scotland,  and  reared  in  America  ;  a  very  line  moth¬ 
erly  person,  indeed.  I  cannot,  at  the  present  stage  of  mat¬ 
ters,  mention  the  word  Gipsy  to  her,  but  I  know  very  well 
that  she  is  a  Gipsy.  It  takes  some  time  for  the  feeling  of 
prejudice  for  the  word  Gipsy  to  wear  off,  when  contempla¬ 
ting  even  a  passable  kind  of  Gipsy.  That  object  would  be 
much  more  easily  attained,  were  the  people  to  own  “  the 
blood,”  unreservedly  and  cheerfully  ;  for  the  very  reserve, 
to  a  great  extent,  creates,  at  least  keeps  alive,  the  prejudice. 
But  that  cannot  well  take  place  till  the  word  “  Gipsy”  bears 
the  signification  of  gentleman,  in  some  of  the  race,  as  it  does 
of  vagabond,  in  others. 

Some  of  my  readers  may  still  ask  :  “  What  is  a  Gipsy, 
after  all  that  has  been  said  upon  the  subject  ?  Since  it  is 
not  necessarily  a  question  of  colour  of  face,  or  hair,  or  eyes, 
or  of  creed,  or  character,  or  of  any  outward  thing  by  which 
a  human  being  can  be  distinguished  ;  what  is  it  that  con¬ 
stitutes  a  Gipsy  ?”  And  I  reply  :  “  Let  them  read  this  work 
through,  and  thoroughly  digest  all  its  principles,  and  they 
can  feel  what  a  Gipsy  is,  should  they  stumble  upon  one,  it 
may  be,  in  their  own  sphere  of  life,  and  hear  him,  or  her, 


532 


DISQUISITION  ON  TIIE  GIPSIES. 


admit  the  fact,  and  speak  unreservedly  of  it.  They  will  then 
feel  their  minds  rubbing  against  the  Gipsy  mind,  their  spir¬ 
its  communing  with  the  Gipsy  spirit,  and  experience  a  pecu¬ 
liar  mental  galvanic  shock,  which  they  never  felt  before.”* 
It  is  impossible  to  say  where  the  Gipsy  soul  may  not  exist 
at  the  present  day,  for  there  is  this  peculiarity  about  the 
tribe,  as  I  have  said  before,  that  it  always  remains  Gipsy, 
cross  it  out  to  the  last  drop  of  the  original  blood  ;  for  where 
that  drop  goes,  the  Gipsy  soul  accompanies  it.f 

It  is  the  Christian  who  should  be  the  most  ready  to  take 
up  and  do  justice  to  this  subject  ;  for  he  will  find  in  it  a 
very  singular  work  of  Providence — the  most  striking  phe¬ 
nomenon  in  the  history  of  man.  In  Europe,  the  race  has  ex¬ 
isted,  in  an  unacknowledged  state,  for  a  greater  length  of 
time  than  the  Jews  dwelt  in  Egypt.  And  it  is  time  that  it 
should  be  introduced  to  the  family  of  mankind,  in  its  aspect 
of  historical  development ;  embracing,  as  in  Scotland,  mem¬ 
bers  ranging  from  what  are  popularly  understood  to  be  Gip¬ 
sies,  to  those  filling  the  first  positions  in  Christian  and  social 

*  Let  us  suppose  that  a  person,  who  has  rear]  all  the  works  that  have 
hitherto  appeared  on  the  Gipsies,  and  noticed  the  utter  absence,  in  them, 
of  everything  of  the  nature  of  a  philosophy  of  the  subject,  thoroughly 
masters  all  that  is  set  forth  in  the  present  work.  The  knowledge  which  he 
then  possesses  puts  him  in  such  a  position,  that  he  approximates  to  being 
one  of  the  tribe,  himself  ;  that  is,  if  all  that  is  contained  therein  be  known 
to  him  and  the  tribe,  only,  it  would  enable  him  to  pass  current,  in  certain 
circles  of  Gipsydom,  as  one  of  themselves. 

+  There  is  a  point  which  I  have  not  explained  so  fully  as  I  might  have 
done,  and  it  is  this :  “  Is  any  of  the  blood  ever  lost  ?  that  is,  does  it  ever 
cease  to  be  Gipsy,  in  knowledge  and  feeling?’’  That  is  a  question  not  easily 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  were  it  only  for  this  reason  :  how  can  it  ever 
be  ascertained  that  the  knowledge  and  feeling  of  being  Gipsies  become 
lost?  Let  us  suppose  that  a  couple  of  Gipsies  leave  England,  and  settle  in 
America,  and  that  they  never  come  in  contact  with  any  of  their  race,  and 
that  their  children  never  learn  anything  of  the  matter  from  any  quarter. 
(Page  413.)  In  such  an  extreme,  I  may  say,  such  an  unnatural,  case, 
the  children  would  not  be  Gipsies,  but,  if  born  in  America,  ordinary  Amer¬ 
icans.  The  only  way  in  which  the  Gipsy  blood — that  is,  the  Gipsy  feeling 
— can  possibly  be  lost,  is  by  a  Gipsy,  (a  man  especially,)  marrying  an  ordi¬ 
nary  native,  (page  33 1 ,)  and  the  children  never  learning  of  the  circum¬ 
stance.  But,  as  I  have  said  before,  how  is  that  ever  to  be  ascertained  ? 
The  question  might  be  settled  in  this  way  :  Let  the  relatives  of  the  Gipsy 
interrogate  the  issue,  and  if  it  answers,  truly,  that  it  knows  nothing  of  the 
Gipsy  connexion,  and  never  has  its  curiosity  in  the  matter  excited,  it  holds, 
beyond  dispute,  that  “  the  blood”  has  been  lost  to  the  tribe.  For  any  loss 
the  tribe  may  sustain,  in  that  way,  it  gains,  in  an  ample  degree,  by  draw¬ 
ing  upon  the  blood  of  the  native  race,  and  transmuting  it  into  that  of  its 
own  fraternity. 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


533 


society.  After  perusing  the  present  work,  the  reader  will 
naturally  pass  on  to  reconsider  the  subject  of  the  Jews  ;  and 
he  will  perceive  that,  instead  of  its  being  a  miracle  by  which 
the  Jews  have  existed  since  the  dispersion,  it  would  have 
been  a  miracle  had  they  been  lost  among  the  families  of  man¬ 
kind.  It  is  quite  sufficient  for  the  Christian  to  know  that 
the  Jews  now  exist,  and  that  they  have  fulfilled,  and  will 
yet  fulfill,  the  prophecies  that  have  been  delivered  in  regard 
to  them,  without  holding  that  any  miracle  has  been  wrought 
for  that  end.  A  Christian  ought  to  be  more  considerate  in 
his  estimate  of  what  a  miracle  is  ;  he  ought  to  know  that  a 
miracle  is  something  that  is  contrary  to  natural  laws  ;  and 
that  the  existence  of  the  Jews,  since  the  dispersion,  is  in 
exact  harmony  with  every  natural  law.  He  should  not  main 
tain  that  it  is  a  miracle,  for  nothing  having  the  decent 
appearance  of  an  argument  can  be  advanced  in  support 
of  any  such  theory  ;  and  far  less  should  he,  with  his  eyes 
open,  do  what  the  writer  on  the  Christian  Evidences,  al¬ 
luded  to,  (page  459,)  did,  with  his  shut  —  gamble  away 
both  law  and  gospel.*  He  might  give  his  attention, 
however,  to  a  prophecy  of  Moses,  quoted  by  St.  Paul,  in 
Rom.  x.  19,  from  Dent,  xxxii.  21*,  wherein  it  is  said  of  the 
Jews  :  “  I  will  provoke  you  to  jealousy  by  them  that  are 
no  people,  and  by  a  foolish  nation  I  will  anger  you and 
lend  his  assistance  towards  its  fulfillment.t  The  subject 


*  It  was  the  nature  of  man,  in  ancient  times,  as  it  is  with  the  heathen 
to-day,  to  worship  what  could  not  be  understood  ;  while  modern  civiliza¬ 
tion  seems  to  attribute  such  phenomena  to  miracles.  It  is  even  presump¬ 
tuous  to  have  recourse  to  such  an  alternative,  for  the  enquirer  may  be  de¬ 
ficient  in  the  intellect  necessary  to  prosecute  such  investigations,  or  he  may 
not  be  in  possession  of  sufficient  data.  If  the  European  will,  for  example, 
ask  himself,  lstly:  what  is  the  idea  which  he  has  of  a  Gipsy  ?  ‘2ndly: 
what  are  the  feelings  which  he  entertains  for  him  personally  ?  And  3dly : 
what  must  be  the  response  of  the  Gipsy  to  the  sentiments  of  the  other? 
he  cannot  avoid  coming  to  the  conclusion,  that  the  race  should  “  marry 
among  themselves,”  and  that,  “  let  them  be  in  whatever  situation  of  life 
they  may,  they  all”  should  “  stick  to  each  other.”  ( Page.  369.) 

|  Viewing  the  Gipsies  as  they  are  described  in  this  work,  and  contrasting 
their  history  with  that  of  the  nations  of  the  world  in  general,  and  the  Jews 
in  particular,  and  considering  that  they  have  no  religion  peculiar  to  them¬ 
selves,  yet  are  scattered  among,  and  worked  into,  all  nations,  but  not  ac¬ 
knowledged  by,  or  even  known  to,  others,  we  may,  with  the  utmost 
propriety,  call  them,  in  the  language  of  the  prophet,  “no  people,”  and  a  “  fool¬ 
ish  nation  ;”  yet  by  no  means  a  nation  of  fools,  but  rather  more  rogues  than 
fools.  Of  all  the  ways  in  which  the  Gipsies  have  hoaxed  other  people,  the 


534 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


of  the  Gipsies  is  certainly  calculated  to  do  all  that  the 
prophet  said  would  happen  to  the  Jews  ;  if  Christians  will 
only  do  their  duty  to  them,  and,  by  playing  them  off  against 
the  Jews ,  provoke  and  anger  Israel  beyond  measure.  That 
the  Jews  have  existed,  since  the  dispersion,  by  the  Provi¬ 
dence  of  God,  is  what  can  be  said  of  any  other  people,  and 
more  especially  of  the  Gipsies  for  the  last  four  centuries 
and  a  half  in  Europe.  It  is  as  natural  for  the  Gipsies  to 
exist  in  their  scattered  state,  as  for  other  nations  by  the  laws 
that  preserve  their  identity  ;  and  although  their  history  may 
be  termed  remarkable,  it  is  in  no  sense  of  the  word  miracu¬ 
lous,  notwithstanding  the  superstitious  ideas  held  by  many 
of  the  Gipsies  on  that  head,  in  common  with  the  Jews  re¬ 
garding  their  history.  A  thousand  years  hence  the  Gipsies 
will  be  found  existing  in  the  world  ;  for,  as  a  people,  they 
cannot  die  out ;  and  the  very  want  of  a  religion  peculiar  to 
themselves  is  one  of  the  means  that  will  contribute  to  that 
end.*  It  is  the  Christian  who  should  endeavour  to  have 
the  prejudice  against  the  name  of  Gipsy  removed,  so  that 
every  one  of  the  race  should  freely  own  his  blood  to  the 
other,  and  make  it  the  basis  of  a  kindly  feeling,  and  a  bond 
of  brotherhood,  all  around  the  world. 

I  may  be  allowed  to  say  a  word  or  two  to  the  Gipsies, 
and  more  especially  the  Scottish  Gipsies.  I  wish  them  to 
believe,  (what  they,  indeed,  believe  already,)  that  their  blood 
and  descent  are  good  enough  ;  and  that  Providence  may 
reasonably  be  assumed  to  look  upon  both  with  as  much  com¬ 
placency  and  satisfaction,  as  He  does  on  any  other  blood  and 
descent.  All  that  they  have  to  do  is  to  “  behave  them¬ 
selves  for,  after  all,  it  is  behaviour  that  makes  the  man. 
By  all  means  “  stick  to  the  ship,”  but  sail  her  as  an  honour¬ 
able  merchantman.  They  need  not  be  afraid  at  being  dis¬ 
covered  to  be  Gipsies  ;  they  should  feel  as  much  assured 
on  the  subject  now,  as  before  the  publication  of  this  work, 
and  never  entertain  the  least  misgiving  on  that  score.  They 

manner  in  which  they  have  managed  to  throw  around  themselves  a  sense 
of  their  non-existence  to  the  minds  of  others,  is  the  most  remarkable. 

*  The  prejudice  of  their  fellow-creatures  is  a  sufficiently  potent  cause, 
in  itself,  to  preserve  the  identity  of  the  Gipsy  tribe  in  the  world.  It  has 
made  it  to  resemble  an  essence,  hermetically  sealed.  Keep  it  in  that  posi¬ 
tion,  and  it  retains  its  inherent  qualities  undiminisbed  ;  but  uncork  the 
vessel  containing  it,  and  it  might  (I  do  not  say  it  would)  evaporate  among 
the  surrounding  elements. 


DISQUISITION  ON  TEE  GIPSIES. 


535 


will  have  an  occasion  to  cultivate  a  proper  degree  of  confi¬ 
dence  in  respect  to  themselves,  and  be  so  prepared  as  never 
to  commit  tlicmselves,  if  they  wish  not  to  be  known  as  Gip¬ 
sies.  I  know  there  are  few  people  who  have  nerve  enough 
so  to  deport  themselves,  as  to  prevent  moral  detection,  who 
have  committed  murder,  when  they  are  confronted  with  the 
objects  of  it ;  but  if  the  individuals  are  perfectly  satisfied 
of  there  being  no  evidence  against  them,  they  may  confi¬ 
dently  assume  an  appearance  of  innocence.  It  is  so  with 
the  Gipsies  in  settled  life,  as  to  their  being  Gipsies.  Gen¬ 
erally  speaking,  their  blood  is  so  much  mixed  as  almost  to 
defy  detection  ;  although,  for  the  future,  some  of  them  will 
be  very  apt  to  look  at  themselves  in  their  mirrors,  to  see 
whether  there  is  much  of  the  “black  deil”  in  their  faces. 
But  it  rests  with  themselves  to  escape  detection,  and  par¬ 
ticularly  so  as  regards  the  fair,  brown,  and  red  Gipsies. 

I  may  also  be  allowed  to  say  a  word  or  two  to  the  Church, 
and  people  generally.  It  says  little  for  them,  that,  although 
two  centuries  have  elapsed  since  Bunyan’s  time,  no  one  has 
acknowledged  him.  It  surely  might  have  occurred  to  them 
to  ask,  1  stly  :  What  was  that  particular  family,  or  tribe,  of 
which  Bunyan  said  he  was  a  member?  2 ndly :  Who  are 
the  tinkers  ?  3 dly  :  What  was  the  meaning  of  Bunyan  en¬ 

tertaining  so  much  solicitude,  and  undergoing  so  much 
trouble,  to  ascertain  whether  he,  (a  common  Englishman , 
forsooth!)  was  a  Jew,  or  not?  4  tldg :  Was  John  Bunyan 
a  Gipsy  ?  Let  my  reader  reply  to  these  questions,  like  a 
man  of  honour.  Aye  or  nay,  was  John  Bunyan  a  Gipsy  ? 
“  He  was  a  Gipsy.” 

In  modern  times  people  will  preach  the  gospel  “  around 
about  Illyricum,”  compass  sea  and  land,  and  penetrate 
every  continent,  to  bring  home  Christian  trophies  ;  while  in 
Bunyan  they  have  a  trophy — a  real  case  of  “  grace  abound¬ 
ing  and  yet  no  one  has  acknowledged  him,  although  his 
fame  will  be  as  lasting  as  the  pyramids.  John  Bunyan  was 
evidently  a  man  who  was  raised  up  by  God  for  some  great 
purposes.  One  of  these  purposes  lie  has  served,  and  will 
yet  serve  ;  and  it  becomes  us  to  enquire  what  further  pur¬ 
pose  he  is  destined  to  serve.  It  is  showing  a  poor  respect 
for  Bunyan’s  memory,  to  deny  him  his  nationality,  to  rob 
him  of  his  birth-right,  and  attempt  to  make  him  out  to  have 
been  tnat  which  he  positively  was  not.  To  gratify  their 


536 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


own  prejudices,  people  would  degrade  the  illustrious  dreamer, 
from  being  this  great  original,  into  being  the  off-scourings 
of  all  England.  People  imagine  that  they  would  degrade 
Bunyan  by  saying  that  he  was  a  Gipsy.  They  degrade 
themselves  who  do  not  believe  he  was  a  Gipsy  ;  they  doubly 
degrade  themselves  who  deny  it.  Jews  may  well  taunt 
Christians  in  the  matter  of  evidences,  and  that  on  a  simple 
matter  of  fact,  affecting  no  one’s  interests,  temporal  or  eter¬ 
nal,  and  as  clear  as  the  sun  at  mid-day  ;  for  by  Bunyan’s 
own  showing  he  was  a  Gipsy  ;  but  if  any  further  evidence 
was  wanted,  how  easily  could  it  not  have  been  collected,  any 
time  during  the  last  two  hundred  years  ! 

I  have  hitherto  got  the  il  cold  shoulder”  from  the  organs 
of  most  of  the  religious  denominations  on  this  subject :  time 
will  show  whether  it  is  always  to  be  so.  The  Church  should 
know  what  is  its  mission  :  it  rests  on  evidence  itself,  and  it 
should  be  the  first  to  follow  out  its  own  principles.  It 
should  fight  its  own  battles,  and  give  the  enemy  no  occasion 
to  speak  reproachfully  of  it.  In  approaching  this  subject,  it 
would  be  well  to  do  it  cheerfully,  and  gracefully,  and  man¬ 
fully,  and  not  as  if  the  person  were  dragged  to  it,  with  a 
rope  around  his  neck.  No  one  need  imagine  that  by  keep¬ 
ing  quiet,  this  matter  will  blow  over.  For  the  Gipsy  race 
cannot  die  out  ;  nor  is  this  Avork  likely  to  die  out  soon  ;  for 
unless  it  is  superseded  by  some  other,  it  will  come  up  cen¬ 
turies  hence,  to  judge  the  present  generation  on  the  Gipsy 
question.  May  such  as  have  written  on  the  great  dreamer 
never  lift  up  their  heads,  may  his  works  turn  to  hot  coals  in 
their  fingers,  may  their  memories  be  outlawed,  if  they  allow 
this  unchristian,  this  unmanly,  this  silly,  this  childish,  preju¬ 
dice  of  caste  to  prevent  them  from  doing  justice  to  their 
hero.  Nor  need  any  one  utter  a  murmur  at  the  prospect  of 
seeing  the  Pilgrim’s  Progress  prefaced  by  a  dissertation  on 
the  Gipsies,  with  a  Gipsy’s  camp  for  a  frontispiece.  Such  a  feel¬ 
ing  may  be  expressed  by  boors,  snobs,  and  counterfeit  relig¬ 
ionists  ;  but  better  things  are  to  be  expected  from  other  people. 

Let  the  reader  now  pause,  and  reflect  upon  the  prejudice 
of  caste  that  exists  against  the  name  of  Gipsy,  and  he  will 
fully  realize  how  it  is  that  we  should  know  so  little  about 
the  Gipsies,  and  why  it  is  that  the  Gipsies,  as  they  leave 
the  tent,  should  hide  their  nationality  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  and  “  stick  to  each  other.” 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


537 


In  bringing  this  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies  to  a  close,  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say  a  word  or  two  to  some  of  the  critics. 
In  the  first  place,  I  may  venture  to  assert,  that  the  subject  is 
worthy  of  a  criticism  the  most  disinterested  and  profound. 
I  am  well  aware  that  the  publication  of  the  work  places  me 
in  a  position  antagonistic  alike  to  authors  and  critics  who 
have  written  on  the  subject,  as  well  as  to  the  prejudices  of 
mankind  generally.  If  critics  call  in  question  any  of  the 
facts  contained  in  the  production,  they  must  give  their 
authorities  ;  if  they  controvert  any  of  the  principles,  they 
must  give  their  reasons.  It  will  not  do  to  play  the  ostrich 
instead  of  the  critic.  For  as  the  ostrich  is  said  to  hide  its 
head  in  the  sand,  or  in  a  bush,  or,  it  may  be,  under  its  wing, 
and  imagine  that  because  it  sees  no  one,  so  no  one  sees  it ; 
so  there  are  people,  sometimes  to  be  met  with,  who  will  not 
only  imagine,  but  assert,  that  because  they  know  nothing  of 
a  tiling,  or  because  they  do  not  understand  it,  therefore,  the 
thing  itself  does  not  exist.  This  was  the  wray  in  which 
Bruce’s  travels  in  Africa  were  received.  But  we  are  not 
living  in  those  times.  Procedure  such  as  that  described,  is 
playing  the  ostrich,  not  the  critic.  I  refer  more  particularly, 
however,  to  what  is  contained  in  this  Disquisition.  Taking 
the  work  all  through,  I  think  there  are  sufficient  materials 
contained  in  it,  to  enable  the  critics  to  settle  the  various 
questions  among  themselves. 

To  place  myself  in  a  position  a  little  independent  of  pub¬ 
lishers,  (for  1  have  had  great  difficulty  in  finding  a  publisher,) 
I  had  the  Introduction,  (pages  55-67),  printed,  and  circulated 
among  some  acquaintances  in  Cauada,  for  subscribers.*  A 
copy  of  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  an  intelligent  Scottish 
newspaper  editor,  in  a  small  community,  where  every  one 
knows  every  other’s  business  nearly  as  well  as  his  own,  and 
where  all  about  the  Prospectus  was  explained  to  those  to 
whom  it  was  given.  It  seems  to  have  frightened  and  en- 

*  The  MS.  of  this  work  has  undergone  many  vicissitudes.  Among  others, 
it  may  be  mentioned  that,  in  the  state  in  whioh  it  was  left  by  the  author, 
it  was  twice  lost,  and  once  stolen ;  on  which  last  occasion  it  was  recovered, 
at  an  expense  of  one  shilling  !  Then  the  original  copy,  in  its  present  form, 
was  stolen,  and  never  recovered.  In  both  instances  did  that  happen  under 
circumstances  that  such  a  fate  was  most  unlikely  to  befall  it.  Then  a  copy 
of  it  was  sent  to  Scotland,  and  never  acknowledged,  although  I  am  in  hopes 
it  is  now  on  its  return,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  three  years;  in  which 
case,  I  will  be  more  fortunate  than  the  author,  who  gave  the  MS.  to  an 
individual  and  never  got,  and  never  could  get,  it  back 

23* 


533 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


raged  the  editor  to  such  an  extent,  that  I  entertain  little 
doubt  he  did  not  sleep  comfortably,  for  nights  in  succession, 
on  finding  that  subject  brought  to  light  at  his  own  door, 
which  has  been  considered,  by  some,  as  well-nigh  dead  and 
buried  long  ago.  lie  imagines  the  circulation  of  the  Pro¬ 
spectus  to  be  confined  preity  much  to  his  own  neighbourhood  ; 
and  so  he  must  crush  the  horrible  thing  out.  But  what  can 
he  say  about  it  ?  How  put  it  down  ?  A  capital  idea  occurs 
to  him  ;  he  will  father  it  upon  Barnum !  Let  the  reader 
glance  again  at  the  Introduction,  and  imagine  how  a  Scotch¬ 
man,  well  posted  up  on  Scotch  affairs,  past  and  present, 
should  credit  Barnum  with  the  production.  He  heads  his 
criticism,  “  The  science  of  humbug,”  and,  in  some  long  and 
bitter  paragraphs,  pitches  into  what  he  calls  American  liter¬ 
ary  quackery  ;  the  substance  of  which  is,  that  the  work 
represented  by  the  Prospectus,  is  a  rare  tit-bit  of  genuine, 
Barnumized,  American  humbug ! 

He  finds,  however,  that  he  has  gone  much  too  far  in  his 
description  of  the  Prospectus  ;  so  he  comes  tumbling  down 
a  long  way  from  the  high  position  which  he  took  at  the  start, 
and  continues  :  “  Now,  we  do  not,  at  present,  venture  the 
assertion  that  the  forthcoming  *  Scottish  Gipsies'  is  a  Yankee 
get-up,  a  mere  American  humbug  ;  but  we  say  £he  Prospect¬ 
us  savours  strongly  of  the  Barnum  school  ;  and  our  reasons 
for  so  saying  are  the  following  :  Firstly  :  It  would  be  noth¬ 
ing  less  than  a  literary  miracle,  that  a  Scottish  work  of  suf¬ 
ficient  merit  to  command  the  highest  commendations  of  Sir 
Walter  Scott,  and  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  should  be  pub¬ 
lished,  first  of  all  in  America,  thirty  years  afterwards — pub¬ 
lished,  by  subscription,  at  one  dollar,  in  a  book' of  400  pages. 
We  assert,  positively,  that  of  such  a  work  William  Black¬ 
wood,  alone,  could  have  disposed  of  five  thousand  copies,  at 
double  the  proposed  price.  [He  is  well  acquainted  with  the 
prices  of  books  in  the  two  countries.]  Secondly  :  There  is 
no  evidence  to  connect  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  note  to  Quentin 
Durward  with  Walter  Sirnson,  or  any  other  particular  indi¬ 
vidual  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  jingle  of  Professor 
Wilson,  and  the  other  allusions  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine. 
Thirdly  :  There  is  neither  danger  nor  difficulty  in  writing 
anything  you  please,  and  telling  the  public  it  is  au  extract 
of  a  private  letter  you  had  from  some  particular  man  of 
eminence,  thirty  years  ago,  provided  your  eminent  friend 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


539 


has  been  many  years  in  his  grave.  Such  a  fraud  is  not  easily 
detected.  And  Fourthly :  The  reason  assigned  for  publish¬ 
ing  the  ‘  Scottish  Gipsies’ . is  totally  upset  by 

the  simple  fact,  that  there  are  no  such  people  in  existence,  in 
so  far  as  Scotland  is  concerned.  [What  an  audacity  he  dis¬ 
plays  here  !  What  a  liberty  he  takes  with  the  Scotch  set¬ 
tlers  in  his  neighbourhood  !  He  is  evidently  afraid  that  lie 
has  gone  too  far  ;  so  he  qualifies  what  he  has  said,  by  add¬ 
ing  :]  There  are,  it  is  true,  a  few  families  of  itinerant  tink¬ 
ers,  or  Tinklers,  according  to  our  peculiar  vernacular,  who 
stroll  the  country,  and  subsist  by  making  horn-spoons  and 
sauce-pans,  which  they  barter  with  the  rural  peasantry,  for 
potatoes  and  other  eatables.  They  are  generally  wild,  reck¬ 
less,  and  dishonest,  and  are  a  terror  to  children  and  old 
women.  In  nineteen  cases  out  of  twenty,  they  are  natives 
of  Ireland  ;  and  were  any  person  idle  enough  to  trace  their 
genealogy,  he  would  discover  that  their  ancestors,  not  more 
than  three  generations  back,  were  honest  brogue-makers, 
pig-drovers,  or,  it  may  be,  members  of  some  more  elevated 
occupation.  [He  has  been  1  idle  enough’  to  give  us  a  very 
odd  account  of  the  descent,  in  two  senses  of  the  word,  of 
the  Irish  tinkering  Gipsies  now  in  Scotland.]  The  writer 
of  these  remarks  is  well  acquainted  with  almost  the  whole 
Lowlands,  and  a  portion  of  the  West  Highlands.  He  has 
been  familiar  with  the  shires  of  Fife  and  Linlithgow,  with 
Annandale,  the  Upper  Ward  of  Lanarkshire,  and  the  other 
fabulously  reputed  haunts  of  the  Gipsies  [he  seems  to 
have  done  a  little  tramping  in  his  time]  ;  and  he  never  saw 
twenty  Scottish  Tinklers  in  his  whole  life,  nor  one  single  in¬ 
dividual  corresponding  to  the  description  we  have  received 
of  the  Gipsies.  [He  has  told  us  who  the  Irish  Tinklers  in 
Scotland  were  originally,  but  does  not  venture  to  say  any¬ 
thing  of  the  Scottish  ones.  He  will  not  admit  that  there 
is  a  Gipsy  in  Scotland,  or  ever  lias  been  ;  and  virtually 
denies  that  there  are  Gipsies  in  England  ;  for  he  continues  :] 
The  nearest  approach  to  the  character  is  the  hawkers  from 
the  Staffordshire  potteries,  who  are  found  living  in  tents  by 
the  way-side,  throughout  the  North  Riding  of  Yorkshire,  and 
the  five  northern  counties  of  England.  These  are  a  kind  of 
savages,  who  live  in  families,  strolling  the  country,  in  large 
caravans,  consisting  frequently  of  half  a  dozen  canvas-cov¬ 
ered  wagons  and  twice  that  number  of  horses . 


540 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


These  characters  often  cross  the  Border,  at  Langholm  and 
Gretna  Green,  and  infest  Annandale,  Roxburghshire,  Dum- 
fries-shire,  and  the  Stewartry  of  Kirkcudbright.  [He  will 
not  allude  to  the  tented  Gipsies  in  England.] 

“  These  two  classes  of  foreign  vagrants  [why  does  he  call 
them  foreign  vagrants  ?  why  not  say  Gipsies  ?]  which  we 
mention,  are  to  be  found,  occasionally,  in  certain  localities  of 
Scotland,  [still  nothing  said  of  the  Scottish  Tinklers ,]  and 
are  to  be  found  as  a  dreaded,  dangerous  nuisance.  But  the 
idea  of  a  race  of  Scottish  Tinklers,  or  Scottish  Gipsies,  ex¬ 
isting  as  a  distinct  and  separate  people,  possessing  a  native, 
independent  language,  and  peculiar  habits,  rites,  and  ceremo¬ 
nies,  and  bearing,  in  many  features  of  their  barbarous  cus¬ 
toms,  and  outcast  destiny,  a  resemblance  to  the  vagabond 
Jews  ;  such  an  idea,  we  say,  has  as  little  foundation  in  fact, 
as  has  Swift’s  story  of  the  Lilliputians,  or  the  romance  of 
Guy  Maunering  itself !  [It  is  astonishing  what  he  would 
not  attempt  to  palm  upon  the  public.  Still,  he  is  evidently 
afraid  that  the  subject  will,  somehow  or  other,  bite  him  ;  and, 
after  all  that  he  has  said,  he  concludes  :]  Still,  we  do  not, 
at  present,  assert  that  the  Prospectus  we  have  received  is 
another  ’cute  move  of  American  humbug  ;  but  we  do  say, 
if  there  is  a  James  Simson  in  existence,  who  possesses  such 
a  manuscript,  and  such  commendations  of  it  as  are  set  forth 
in  this  Prospectus,  he  has  already  erred  sufficiently  far  to  en¬ 
sure  his  identification  with  Yankee  quackery.  He  has  been 
Barnumized  into  an  egregious  blunder.”  [He  is  bound  to 
discredit  the  whole  affair,  under  any  circumstances,  even  at 
the  expense  of  the  plainest  consistency.] 

Well  might  a  brother  editor  reply  to  the  foregoing,  thus  : 
“  The  bile  of  our  excellent  friend  has  just  been  agitated  after 

a  pestilent  fashion . The  announcement  [of 

the  intended  publication]  hath  all  the  ungenial  effects  upon 
our  gossip  that  the  exhibition  of  a  pair  of  scarlet  decencies 
produces  upon  a  cranky  bull . How,  just  lis¬ 

ten  to  us  quietly  for  a  little.  More  than  two  years  ago,  the 
manuscript  of  the  above-mentioned  treatise  on  the  Scoto- 
Egyptians  came  under  our  ken.  We  perused  the  affair  with 
special  appetite,  and  were  decidedly  of  opinion  that  its  pub¬ 
lication  would  be  a  grateful  and  important  boon  to  the  re¬ 
public  of  letters.  Mr.  Simson  is  neither  a  myth  nor  a  disci¬ 
ple  of  Barnunn”  Upon  the  back  ol  this,  the  first  editor 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  GIPSIES. 


541 


writes  :  “We  are  pleased  to  be  informed  that  the  work  is  a 
bona  fide  production,  and  that  Mr.  Simson  is  no  Yankee 
fiction.  [As  if  he  did  not  know  that  from  the  first.]  And 
albeit  he,  [the  other  editor,]  furnisheth  neither  facts  nor 
arguments  to  satisfy  us  that  our  notions  of  the  Gipsies  of 
Scotland  are  heretical,  we  willingly  accept  his  recommend 
that  the  ‘  Scottish  Gipsies  ’  will  be,  at  least,  an  entertaining 
book,  and  reserve  all  further  remarks  till  we  see  it.”[!] 

The  foregoing  is  a  very  curious  criticism  ;  and  although  I 
could  say  a  great  deal  more  about  it,  I  refrain  from  doing  so. 


INDEX. 


PAQB 

AFRICANS. 

Comparison  between  Africans,  in  America,  and  Gipsies  generally.  .50,  493 

How  they  lost  their  language  and  superstitions  in  America .  50 

The  prejudice  against  Africans  in  America . 54,  441 

AFRICAN  GIPSIES . 428,  »429 

AMERICAN  GIPSIES. 

Many  arrived  during  the  Revolution,  as  impressed  soldiers,  and  vol-  , 

unteers .  345 

English  Gipsies  married  to  native  Americans .  377 

A  Gitano  has  a  cigar  store  in  Virginia.  Egyptians  in  Louisiana,  «... .  389 

See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies . 418-425 

Meeting  between  English  and  American  Gipsies,  in  Maryland .  430 

The  Zincali  Society  in  the  city  of  New  York,  «438— Address  to  the 

American  Gipsies .  440 

There  should  be  no  prejudices  against  Gipsies  in  America . 441,  524 

AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

Comparison  between  them  and  the  Gipsies  generally . 53,  55,  446 

AMERICAN  READER,  to  the . 6,  7,  440,  524,  525 

AMUSEMENTS  OF  GIPSIES . 124,  126,  179,  182,  224 

ANTIQUARIES. 

Prejudices  of,  against  the  Gipsies .  n7 

The  profession  of,  56,  zeal  in  the  calling  of. .  no7 

ARABS. 

English  Gipsies  say  they  are  a  cross  between  Arabs  and  Egyptians.  14, 467 

How  Arabs  protect  shipwrecked  Christians .  «203 

They  strip  people  of  their  clothes  in  the  desert .  210 

BAILLIES  OF  LAMINGTON. 

Their  influence  of  great  service  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies. . .  .121, 205,  213, 470 

The  connexion  between  them  and  the  Gipsy  tribe  of  Baillie .  185 

BAIRD,  REV.  JOHN. 

His  report  on  the  Gipsy  mission  to  the  Church  of  Scotland .  64 

His  collection  of  Gipsy  words,  collated  with  those  of  the  author .  334 

On  the  absence  of  slang  in  the  Gipsy  language .  «338 

His  plan  for  improving  the  Gipsies . 368,  »369 

BATTLES,  GIPSY. 

At  Stirling  147,  Romanno  188,  Hawick  190,  Esk-dale  moor  193,  Dum- 

blane .  194 

BIGGAR. 

The  face  of  the  country  about  Biggar .  141 

Gipsy  turbulence  in  Biggar  fair .  196 

BIRTH  OF  THE  ORIGINAL  KIND  OF  GIPSIES . 356,  »357 

BLACKWOOD'S  MAGAZINE. 

The  author’s  articles  in,  8,  56,  64— Poetical  notice  of  them .  66 

Hints  at  a  philosophical  account  of  the  Gipsies .  25 

Extracts  of  Scottish  public  records,  taken  from .  113 

Unintentional  attempt  of  a  Gipsy  to  rob  his  own  clergyman .  «124 

Chase  after  John  Young,  a  Gipsy,  resembling  a  fox  hunt .  »144 

The  unabashed  hardihood  of  Gipsies  under  suspicion .  Til 55 

Old  Will  of  Phaup’s  five  years’  warfare  with  the  Gipsies .  «179 

Assault  of  the  Gipsies  on  Penmcuik  House .  nl95 

The  slaughter  of  William  Baillie,  a  Gipsy  chief .  206 


(543) 


544 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

How  the  Gipsies  acquired  a  foothold  in  Yetholm .  «.252 

•»  Will  Fan’s  twenty-four  children,  and  pompous  christenings . »252 

The  language  spoken  by  the  Gipsies  in  the  Highlands .  n338 

The  Nuts  or  Bazegurs  of  India  supposed  to  be  the  parent  stock  of  the 

Gipsies .  339 

The  purity  of  Gipsy  blood,  and  child  stealing — Mr.  Borrow’s  “  Gipsies 

in  Spain" .  375 

The  numberless  descendants  of  Billy  Marshall,  a  Gipsy  chief . »388 

The  Duchess  of  Gordon  saves  two  Gipsies  from  the  gallows .  470 

BLACKWOOD,  WILLIAM. 

His  four  letters  to  the  author .  56 

He  originates  the  idea  of  a  history  of  the  Gipsies .  «59 

Letter  to  him,  describing  the  escapes  and  execution  of  Peter  Young, 

a  Gipsy .  145 

His  contribution  on  the  Gipsies  in  Tweed-dale  196,  on  the  Border  . . .  251 

BORDER  GIPSIES. 

The  district  in  which  the  Faas  travelled .  236 

The  tribes  of  Faa  and  Baillie  in  a  state  of  hostility .  236 

Quarrel  in  an  English  Gipsy  family,  in  America:  “the  Faas  and  Bail- 

lies  over  again” .  zi237 

Henry  Faa  sits  at  the  tables  of  people  in  public  office,  and  receives 

blackmail  from  men  of  considerable  fortune .  237 

The  mercantile  house  of  Fall,  of  Dunbar,  founded  by  Gipsies .  237 

Captain  Fall  a  member  of  parliament — the  family  rule  the  political 

interests  of  Dunbar .  237 

Mrs.  Fall  works,  in  tapestry,  a  group  of  the  founders  of  the  family, 

with  their  asses,  &c .  237 

Anecdotes  of  the  Falls  with  reference  to  their  tribe  and  origin .  «23S 

The  extensive  nature  of  the  Fall  firm,  and  the  cause  of  its  ruin .  23S 

Miss  Fall  marries  Sir  John  Anstruther,  of  Elie,  baronet .  238 

The  rabble  insult  her  at  an  election,  in  which  Sir  John  is  a  candidate,  239 

The  song  of  “Johnny  Faa,  the  Gipsy  Laddie” .  239 

The  Earl  of  Cassilis  the  husbaud  of  her  who  absconded  with  the 

“  Gipsy  Laddie  ” .  241 

Adventure  of  a  relative  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  among  the  Gipsies .  241 

The  original  of  Meg  Merrilies  242 — The  execution  of  her  sons  243 — 

She  is  drowned  by  the  rabble,  at  Carlisle,  for  being  a  jacobite .  244 

The  grandfather  of  Sir  Walter  Scott  is  feasted  by  the  Gipsies,  on 

Charterhouse  moor .  244 

Contribution  of  Baillie  Smith,  of  Kelso,  to  Hoyland’s  “Survey  of  the 

Gipsies” . 

Attachment  of  the  Yetholm  Gipsies  to  their  mode  of  life,  their 
independence,  peculiar  points  of  honour,  honesty  when  trusted,  the 
number  of  the  tribe  in  the  county  245 — Their  employment — given 
to  hunting  and  fishing,  246 — The  nature  of  their  leases,  the 
late  proprietor  calls  them  his  body-guard,  his  successor  grants  no 
more  leases  to  the  tribe,  they  stay  at  home  during  the  winter  months 
only,  they  seldom  marry  out  of  the  tribe,  247 — Their  physical  pecu¬ 
liarities,  occasional  migrations,  burials,  education,  church  atten¬ 
dance  and  baptism — unsteadiness  of  disposition,  they  will  pay  their 
rents  only  when  it  suits  themselves,  248 — They  resent  an  interfer¬ 
ence  with  the  Debatable  Lands,  249 — Sir  Walter  Scott  points  out  a 
Gipsy,  250 — Will  Faa,  the  Gipsy  king,  claims  kin  with  the  Messrs. 

Fall,  merchants,  of  Dunbar,  Will’s  death  and  burial,  251 — Report 

on  the  Gipsies  by  the  sheriffs .  «251 

Contribution  from  Mr.  Blackwood,  towards  a  history  of  the  Gipsies. 
Yetholm  first  occupied  by  the  Faas  and  the  Youngs,  tradition  of 
their  first  settlement,  n — Will  Faa  and  the  Falls  of  Dunbar,  Will 
thrice  married,  his  twenty-four  children,  and  pompous  christen¬ 
ings,  has  charge  of  Marlfield  house,  the  sheriff  becomes  his 
security,  his  corpse  escorted  by  300  asses,  252 — His  son  and  sue- 


INDEX. 


545 


PAGB 

cessor,  his  brother  a  lieutenant  in  the  East  India  Company’s  ser¬ 
vice,  Gipsy  fights,  recovery  of  a  stolen  mare,  quarrels  among  the 
tribe,  253 — The  Walker  family,  and  civilized  Gipsies  about  Yetholm, 
Gipsy  connexions,  education,  no  female  Gipsy  educated,  the  colony 

free  of  imputed  crime  for  fifty  years .  254 

The  author’s  visit  to  Yetholm — Handling  the  cudgel .  254 

A  smuggling  adventure  of  Will  Faa — Ilis  appearance — A  lament  on 

his  death .  255 

His  relations  in  New  York — A  great  many  of  the  tribe  scattered  over 
the  world .  n255 


BORROW,  GEORGE. 

His  publications  on  the  Gipsies,  since  this  work  was  written .  6,  64 

In  error  on  the  subject  of  Gipsies  stealing  children . 7)9,  7)342 

On  the  Gipsy  language,  23,  7)281,  7)298,  7)338,  7)431 — On  Timour  over¬ 
running  India .  38 

In  error  in  saying  that  the  Gipsies  obtained  the  name  of  Egyptians 

from  others  . . .  39 

Description  of  English  Gipsies,  and  the  English  dialect  spoken  by 

them .  7)93 

Spanish  Gipsy  counts,  7)107,  397,  7)468 — Act  of  Charles  II.  against 

Spaniards,  tor  protecting  the  Gipsies .  7)114 

Gipsies  poison  swine,  and  eat  their  flesh .  7)186 

English  Gipsy  surnames — Travelling  Gipsies  have  two  names .  7)219 

•  Chastity  among  young  Spanish  Gipsy  females,  7)257 — Spanish  Gipsy 

marriage  ceremony .  7)262 

The  character  of  Spanish  Gipsy  women .  7)285 

On  the  Law  of  Charles  III.,  ameliorating  the  condition  of  the  Span¬ 
ish  Gipsies . 7)313,  392 

Song  of  a  female  Gipsy,  at  Moscow,  7)317 — On  the  Sclavonic  in  the 

Gipsy  language .  »33S 

He  meets  with  a  rich  Gipsy  in  Spain,  7)347 — How  Gipsies  resist  cold 

weather .  m3 54 

Meeting  between  a  French  and  Spanish  Gipsy',  in  the  heat  of  a  battle,  7)360 

On  the  education  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies . ■. .  7)365 

Religion  among  the  Moscow  Gipsies — He  preaches  to  the  tribe  in 

Spain .  7)366 

A  half-blood  Spanish  Gipsy  captain,  372,  7)373,  377 — Civilized  Gipsies 

in  Moscow . 374,  399,  7)408 

Shuttling  of  the  Gipsies  regarding  marriage  with  ordinary  natives. .  nil 5 

Characters  in  Lavengro  and  the  Romany  Rve . 7)375,  508,  7)509 

The  Spanish  Gipsies  generally  ;  See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies. .  ,  .385-397 
The  natural  capacity  of  Gipsies — different  classes  in  Spain,  Turkey, 

and  Russia .  398 

No  washing  will  turn  the  Gips.v  white,  413 — Moorish  Gipsies  in  Africa,  428 

He  is  taken  for  a  Gipsy  in  Spain,  397,  and  at  Moscow .  430 

On  the  grammatical  peculiarities  of  the  Gipsy  language .  7)431 

On  the  hatred  entertained  by  the  Gipsies  for  other  people .  7)433 

On  Gipsy  ingratitude — lawlessness  in  Spain .  435 

Mr.  Burrow  as  an  authority  on  the  Gipsies . 448,  450,  523 

On  the  Russian  Gipsies  owning  flocks  and  herds .  466 

Description  of  a  superior  Spanish  Gipsv  in  1584 .  7i4b8 

BRIGHT,  Dll.  (TRAVELS  IN  HUNGARY.) 

1  he  phenomenon  of  the  existence  of  the  Gipsies .  7 

The  existence  of  the  Gipsy  language  little  short  of  the  miraculous  . .  2  4 

He  hopes  to  see  a  satisfactory  account  of  the  Gipsies .  25 

Description  of  Gipsy  life  in  England .  30 

Description  of  Gipsy  dwellings,  and  their  locations,  in  Hungary....  tzI 4 1 
•  Spanish  Gipsy  marriage  ceremony,  7)261 — Spuuish  Gipsy  widows. .  .  7)274 

The  difficulties  in  acquiring  the  Gipsy  language .  7)281 

He  suggests  that  the  Gipsy  language  should  be  collated  with  vulgar 
Hindostauee .  330 


546 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

An  Hungarian  nobleman’s  opinion  on  the  civilization  of  the  Gipsies.  367 
BRUCE,  JAMES,  (TRAVELS  IN  AFRICA.) 

Account  of  the  Arabs  protecting  shipwrecked  Christians .  »203 

Method  of  selling  cargoes,  at  Jedda,  to  the  Turks .  »312 

His  discoveries  discredited .  537 

BUNSEN,  CHEVALIER,  ON  SOUND  JUDGMENT  AND  SHALLOW 

MINDS .  »518 

BUNYAN,  JOHN. 

He  alludes  to  Gipsy  women  stealing  children,  »80 — He  is  bred  to  the 

business  of  a  brazier .  n206 

Ilis  family  history  illustrated  by  the  author’s  visit  to  a  Gipsy,  met  with 

at  St.  Boswell’s .  309 

His  wife  before  Judge  Hale,  «813,  517 — His  description  of  his  early 

habits,  or  “youthful  vanities” .  »402 

His  nationality,  and  that  of  his  tribe;  See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies, 

507-523 

The  name  of  Bunyan  calculated  to  raise  up  that  of  the  Gipsies .  530 

He  is  still  unacknowledged,  though  his  fame  will  be  as  lasting  as  the 

pyramids .  535 

Some  people  imagine  it  would  degrade  Bunyan,  to  say  he  was  a  Gipsy  536 
BURNS,  ROBERT. 

His  “Jolly  Beggars;”  “My  bonny  lass,  I  work  in  brass” .  m346 

He  alludes  to  the  Falls,  of  Dunbar,  in  his  tour .  «406 

CANADA. 

A  Scottish  Gipsy  family  in,  13— Gipsies  in. . . .  424 

A  criticism  on  this  work,  while  in  prospect,  by  a  Scotch  editor  in... .  537 

CAPPADOCE  FAMILY,  VICISSITUDES  IN  THE  RELIGIOUS  HIS¬ 
TORY  OF  THE .  497 

CARLYLE,  DR.  ALEXANDER. 

Execution  of  Jock  Johnstone,  «201 — Jenny  Fall,  afterwards  Lady  An- 

struther .  n239 

CASSIUS,  THE  COUNTESS  OF. 

Elopes  with  John  Faa,  a  Gipsy  chief,  108 — The  song  of  “Johnny  Faa, 

the  Gipsy  Laddie,”  composed  thereon .  239 

CASTE. 

In  India,  28 — In  Great  Britain,  52,  54,  440, 443,  516,  522 — In  America, 


54,  441 ,  525 

CHAMBERS’  GAZETTEER. 

Description  of  Yetholm,  »141 — Gipsy  scenes  at  St.  Boswell’s  fair. . . .  «353 

CHAMBERS’  JOURNAL — On  the  disappearance  of  the  Gipsies .  ra449 

CHAMBERS’  MISCELLANY — An  account  of  Peter  Young,  a  Gipsy _ nl46 

CHILD  STEALING  BY  THE  GIPSIES . 9,  45,  »80,  342,  375 

CHURCH  OF  SCOTLAND. 

Mission  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies, . 6,  55,  64,  »369 

A  Gipsy  one  of  the  committee  of  the  missionary  society .  6 

Gipsies  clergymen  in  the  Scottish  Church . 6,  412 

Mission  of  enquiry  to  the  Jews;  the  Gipsies  of  Wallachia .  »73 

CHURCH,  THE. 

Religious  journals  decline  entertaining  the  question,  “Was  John 
Bunyan  a  Gipsy?”  522,  525 — The  Church  should  do  its  duty  to  the 

Gipsy  race  generally . 440,  443,  532,  535,  536 

CLARKE,  DR.,  (TRAVELS  IN  RUSSIA,  &c.) 

Characters  of  the  Gipsies  in  Wallachia,  74 — Gipsy  dances  in  Moscow,  180 

COLLIERS,  GIPSY — In  the  Lothians,  will — In  the  English  mines .  401 

COLLIERS,  SCOTCH,  SLAVES . will,  »121,  508 

CONSTABLES. 

A  Gipsy  constable  murdered,  another  hanged,  and  a  third  banished,  215-218 
Gipsies  formerly  employed  as  county  constables — Their  peculiarities,  343 

Gipsy  constables  at  the  present  day .  348 

A  mixed  Gipsy  makes  a  good  constable  and  thief-catcher .  n348 

CONTINENTAL  GIPSIES. 


INDEX 


547 


PAGE 

The  times  at  which  the  tribe  appeared  in  the  different  countries  in 

Europe .  69 

The  appellations  given  to  them,  in  various  countries .  69 

Notice  of  the  Gipsies,  as  they  appeared  at  Paris,  in  1427 .  70 

Their  original  country  unknown — At  first,  they  receive  passports  as 

pilgrims .  70 

Persecutions  in  Spain,  France,  and  Italy,  in  Denmark,  Sweden,  the 

Netherlands,  and  Germany .  71 

A  general  extermination  never  took  place .  72 

Theft  and  robbery,  and  “  sorning,”  or  masterful  begging,  the  causes 

of  these  persecutions .  72 

The  habits  of  the  Gipsies  everywhere  the  same,  72 — They  have  no  re¬ 
ligion  peculiar  to  themselves .  73 

Thecondition  andclassesof  the  Gipsiesin  theDanubian  Principalities,  73 
Allusion  to  these  Gipsies,  in  a  mission  of  enquiry  to  the  Jews,  in  1839,  »73 
Remarks  on  the  slavery  of  these  Gipsies — Gipsies  as  spies,  in  the  late 

Russian  war .  »74 

The  Gipsies  in  the  Turkish  empire,  in  Italy,  Poland,  Lithuania,  Ger¬ 
many,  and  France .  75 

Remarks  on  Grellmann's  alleged  disappearance  of  the  Gipsies  from 

France .  ®76 

The  Gipsies  in  Spain,  according  to  Dr.  Bright .  76 

The  Gipsies  of  Syria,  the  Crimea,  Persia,  and  India .  77 

The  population  of  the  Gipsies  in  Europe,  and  the  world  generally. . .  77 

The  imposing  titles  and  equipage  of  the  leaders  of  the  Gipsies,  on 

their  arrival  in  Europe .  77 

The  nature  and  form  of  government  among  the  Continental  Gipsies.  78 
An  account  of  Germau  Gipsy  bands,  translated  by  Sir  Walter  Scott, 

for  Blackwood’s  Magazine .  78 

Baron  Trenck,  in  his  wanderines,  falls  in  with  a  German  Gipsy  band,  86 
The  Gipsies  of  the  Pyrenees — Their  resemblance  to  the  inferior  class 

of  Scottish  Gipsies .  86 

COOKING  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES . 88,  187,232 

COUNTERFEITING  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES . 174,  204 

CRABB,  REV.  JAMES. 

The  Gipsies,  as  they  become  civilized,  avoid  the  barbarous  part  of  the 

tribe .  »283 

The  Hindostanee  and  the  Gipsy  languages,  »334 — His  plan  for  im¬ 
proving  the  Gipsies .  368 

CRITICS. 


A  word  or  two  to — A  criticism  on  this  work,  while  in  prospect,  by  a 


Scotch  editor  in  Canada .  537 

DANCING  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES . 179,  180,  182 

DEAD,  THE  BURIAL  OF  THE,  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES .  nl28 


DISGUISES  OF  THE  GIPSIES,  129,  150,  162,  169,  177,  213,  222,  320,  »323, 

349,  355 


DISQUISITION  ON  THE  PAST,  PRESENT,  AND  FUTURE  OF  GIP- 
SYDOM. 

Points  omitted  by  the  author — The  philosophy  of  the  Gipsy  subject,  371 
Gipsydom  a  terra  incognita — Its  origin,  language,  and  habits  strange 

to  other  people .  371 

Natural  perpetuation  of  the  tribe — Mixed  Gipsies  hold  by  theconnexion  372 

The  prejudice  of  caste — A  half-blood  Spanish  Gipsy  captain .  372 

An  iron  master  marries  a  Cinderella,  373 — Civilized  Gipsies  in  Mos¬ 
cow,  and  Scotland .  374 

The  Gipsies  mix  their  blood — No  full-blood  Gipsies  in  Scotland .  374 

The  Edinburgh  Review  and  Blackwood’s  Magazine  on  the  purity  of 

Gipsy  blood .  374 

How  Gipsies  shuffle  on  the  point — The  case  of  Ursula,  in  the  Romany 

Rye .  n 375 

The  physical  peculiarities  cf  mixed  Gipsies  375,  and  other  mixed  races,  376 


648 


INDEX. 


,  PACE 

Appearance  of  the  half-blood  captain— The  Gipsies  partial  to  fair  hair,  377 
Mixed  Gipsies  common  everywhere — Grellmann  on  the  colour  of 

Gipsies .  n.377 

American  mixed  Gipsies,  377 — The  Gipsies  receive  males  rather  than 

females  into  their  tribe. .  . 378 

How  female  Gipsies  “manage”  natives,  when  they  marry  them .  378 

How  Gipsies  are  brought  up  to  adhere  to  their  race .  379 

Remarks  of  Mr.  George  Offor  on  young  female  Gipsies  generally _ «380 

Little  difference  if  the  father  is  a  native — Town  Gipsies  visit  the  tent 

in  their  youth .  »380 

Fair-haired  Gipsies,  3S1 — They  are  superior  to  the  others — the  two 

kinds  will  readily  marry .  n382 

The  peculiarities  of  black  and  fair  Gipsies — The  pons  assinorum  of 

the  Gipsy  question .  383 

The  destiny  of  European  like  Gipsies,  and  of  the  tribe  generally....  383 
The  philosophy  of  the  mixture  of  Gipsy  blood — The  issue  always 

Gipsy .  384 

Mr.  Borrow  on  the  Spanish  Gipsies  generally. 

If  no  laws  are  passed  against  them .  385 

Their  social  position,  intermarriages,  the  law  of  Charles  III.  on  the 

prejudice  against  the  tribe .  386 

Gipsyism  like  Freemasonry,  n — Mrs.  Fall’s  ancestral  group  of  Gip¬ 
sies  .  387 

A  Scotchman  on  the  destiny  of  the  Gipsies,  387 — Nothing  interferes 

with  the  question  of  tribe .  388 

Scottish  literati  on  the  destiny  of  the  Gipsies — A  cloud  of  ignorance 

protects  the  tribe .  w388 

The  Gipsies  “declining,”  according  to  Mr.  Borrow,  388 — His  sin¬ 
gular  inconsistencies .  389 

Change  in  the  habits  of  Gitanos — They  are  to  be  found  in  Cuba, 

Mexico,  and  the  United  States .  389 

Mr.  Borrow  leaves  the  question  of  the  Spanish  Gipsies  where  he 

found  it .  394 

The  Gipsies  “  decreasing,”  by  changing  their  habits,  and  inter¬ 
marriages  .  390 

Gipsies  ashamed  of  the  name  before  the  world — Two  kinds  of  Gip¬ 
sies  in  Badajoz .  391 

The  law  of  Charles  III.,  392 — Its  real  meaning — Causes  of  Spanish 

Gipsy  civilization .  393 

The  law  of  Charles  III.  little  more  than  nominal,  394 — The  Church 

did  not  annoy  the  Gitanos  .  395 

Mr.  Borrow’s  Spanish  Gipsy  authorities— The  tribe  the  same  in 

Spain  as  in  Great  Britain .  395 

“Strangers”  among  English  Gipsies,  “foreign  tinkers”  among 

those  in  Spain . 396 

Mixed  Gipsies  in  Spain — Persecutions  against  the  Spanish  and  Scot¬ 
tish  Gipsies .  397 

The  tinkers  and  Rothwelsh  in  the  Austrian  dominions .  397 

The  natural  capacity  of  Gipsies — Opinions  of  Grellmann,  Bischoff, 

Borrow . 398 

Various  classes  of  Gipsies,  according  to  Mr.  Borrow,  Spanish,  Turk¬ 
ish,  and  Russian . ...  399 

The  original  Scottish  Gipsies,  how  they  encreased,  mixed  their 

blood,  and  spread . 399 

Their  internal  polity  and  numbers,  style  of  life,  400 — How  English 

Gipsies  leave  the  tent .  401 

The  natural  vicissitudes  of  an  English  Gipsy,  after  leaving  the  tent,  401 
Gipsy  ambition,  401— John  Bunyan’s  early  habits  as  described  by 

himself. .  ?r402 

The  character  cf  Scottish  Gipsies,  and  their  opinion  of  themselves 
and  tribe. ...  .  402 


INDEX. 


549 


PA0B 

Phases  of  history  through  which  the  Scottish  Gipsies  have  passed,  402 
The  vicissitudes  in  the  history  of  a  respectable  Scottish  Gipsy 

family,  settling  in  a  town .  404 

Gipsies  among  the  best  Edinburgh  families— An  eminent  Scottish 

Gipsy  clergyman .  405 

The  Falls,  of  Dunbar,  Gipsies — Burns  visits  them,  n,  they  are  noticed 

in  the  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland .  «406 

They  divulge  their  tribe,  over  their  cups — Will  Faa  their  relative — 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  claim  them .  406 

Their  ancestors  Gipsy  kings — The  Gipsy  language  in  the  family. . .  407 

Miss  Fall,  afterwards  Lady  Anstruther,  her  feelings — Tho  other  con¬ 
nexions  of  the  Falls .  408 

Mr.  Borrow’s  visit  to,  and  description  of,  the  Gipsies  of  Moscow  ;  «403 
The  Gipsies  proud  of  their  ancestors,  though  thieves  and  robbers.. . .  409 

Border  and  Highland  thieves  and  robbers,  409 — Sir  Walter  Scott’s 

ancestors .  »410 

Gipsy  and  Highland  thieving — The  McGregors  and  the  Gipsies. .. .  411 

Fitz-James’  address  to  Roderick  Dhu,  in  the  “  Lady  of  the  Lake”.  n411 
A  Gipsy  is  a  Gipsy,  whether  barbarous,  civilized,  educated,  or 

Christianized .  412 

Pritchard  on  the  Hungarian  race,  past  and  present .  413 

Civilized  Scottish  Gipsies — What  they  say  of  themselves .  414 

The  Gippies  should  be  judged  by  a  standard  different  from  that  ap¬ 
plicable  to  ordinary  natives .  414 

The  circumstances  attending  a  wild  Gipsy  make  him  only  half  re¬ 
sponsible .  414 

The  race,  in  its  developement,  should  be  more  leniently  treated 

than  others .  415 

The  antiquity  of  the  Gipsies,  they  are  probably  the  descendants  of 

the  shepherd  kings .  415 

The  confession  of  the  Scotch  clergyman  unintelligible,  unless  fully 

explained .  415 

What  might  be  expected  of  the  Gipsy  tribe,  the  Scottish  Gipsies 

especially .  415 

Population  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  and  the  British  Gipsies  generally  416 
The  Gipsies  are  afraid  of  strange  Gipsies,  when  at  home — A  French 

and  German  Gipsy  in  New  York .  «416 

Scottish  vagabonds,  noticed  by  Fletcher  of  Saltoun,  in  1680,  were 

doubtless  Gipsies .  «417 

Scottish  Gipsy  encrease,  since  1506,  Sir  Walter  Scott’s  opinion  on 
the  destiny  and  number  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  letter  of  James 
IV.  to  the  king  of  Denmark  in  favour  of  Anthonius  Gawino, 

Gipsy  trials,  Gipsies  banished  and  hanged,  the  descendants  of  the 

Gipsies  “  prodigiously  numerous” .  n418 

America,  Gipsies  banished  to,  418 — A  Gipsy  colony  in  New  England — 
Colonial  Gipsies  would  not  likely  take  to  the  tent — Their  occupations,  419 

European  Gipsies  in  America,  420 — Arrival  and  modes  of  life  of  Eng¬ 
lish  Gipsies .  421 

Fortune-tellers:  their  mode  of  travelling,  tricks,  captures,  and  es¬ 
capes .  422 

The  Slave  States  naturally  suitable  to  the  Gipsies — Travelling  Gip¬ 
sies  in  Canada .  424 

Scottish  Gipsies  in  the  United  States  and  Canada — Gipsies  every¬ 
where .  424 

Resemblance  between  the  formation  of  Gipsydom  and  that  of  the 

United  Slates .  425 

The  peculiar  feelings  of  Gipsies — Highland  and  Lowland  feuds— 

Gipsy  resentment .  425 

The  prejudice  against  the  Gipsies  compels  them  to  hide  their  nationality  426 
What  is  it  that  frightens  the  educated  Gipsies?  The  word  Gipsy....  426 
In  what  other  than  a  hidden  state  could  we  expect  to  find  the  Gipsies?  427 


INDEX. 


The  difficulty  in  discovering  who  are,  and  who  are  not,  Gipsies,  at  the 

present  day .  428 

Gipsy  blood  changed  into  almost  pure  black,  in  Africa,  as  well  as 

white,  in  Europe .  428 

Gipsies  found  near  the  sources  of  the  Senegal  and  Gambia .  »429 

The  universality  of  the  Gipsies — Meeting  between  English  and  Am¬ 
erican  Gipsies .  430 

Language  of  the  Gipsies  in  England  and  Scotland— Rivalry  in  its  pro¬ 
nunciation .  431 

The  construction  of  German  and  Spanish  Gipsy,  431 — The  purity 

of  Hungarian  Gipsy .  nA32 

Respectable  Scottish  Gipsies,  and  the  Gipsy  language ;  “Are  ye  a’ 

Tinklers?” .  432 

The  Gipsy  language  in  America — In  Spain .  m432 

The  number  of  words  sufficient  for  every-day  use  in  any  language,  «432 
The  Gipsy  language  in  Great  Britain  mixed,  but  still  serves  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  a  speech .  432 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  the  last  to  forget  the  language — The  causes  of 

its  perpetuation . 433 

Hatred  of  the  Gipsies  for  other  people — Mr.  Borrow  on  that  hatred..  «433 
The  treatment  of  the  Gipsies  made  them  worse  than  they  might 

have  been . 434 

Gipsy  gratitude,  434— Gipsy  law — Borrow  and  Grellmatiu  on  Gipsy 

ingratitude .  435 

Unreasonableness  of  expecting  much  gratitude  from  Gipsies .  435 

Gratitude  among  mankind  generally — The  nature  of  benefits  con¬ 
ferred  on  Gipsies .  435 

Means  of  improving  the  Gipsies — The  feeling  between  them  and  the 

ordinary  natives .  438 

The  name  of  Gipsy  should  be  raised  up,  and  the  tribe  respected  ac¬ 
cording  to  merit .  437 

Respectable  Scottish  Gipsies  are  Scotch  people,  and  should  come  for¬ 
ward,  and  own  themselves  up .  437 

The  Zincali  society  in  the  city  of  New  York .  »438 

An  appeal  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  438,  and  to  those  in  America .  440 

The  prejudices  of  British  people  against  Gipsies,  440,  and  Americans 

against  Negroes .  441 

What  is  to  be  the  future  of  the  Gipsy  race? — Gipsydom  immortal  . .  441 

The  introduction  of  the  Gipsies  to  the  society  of  mankind,  442 — The 

hereditary  prejudice  of  centuries .  443 

Missions  among  heathen  and  Jews,  443 — The  Uipsies  should,  at  least, 

be  countenanced .  444 

The  Gipsies  are  Gipsies  everywhere,  and  under  all  circumstances.. . .  444 

The  way  in  which  the  Gipsies  should  be  received  into  the  society  of 

other  people .  445 

The  Gipsies  are  a  people  that  exist,  and  not  such  as  disappear,  like  the 

American  Indians .  446 

The  popular  idea  of  Gipsies  aud  Jews— Gipsies  that  preach  the  gos¬ 
pel,  and  argue  the  law .  447 

Erroneous  ideas  of  writers  generally  as  to  the  Gipsies — Mr.  Borrow.  448 
The  Gipsies  a  question  of  people — Billy  Marshall  and  his  descendants,  448 
No  distinction  has  been  made  between  race  and  habits,  448 — Cham¬ 
bers’  Journal .  »449 

The  Gipsies  compared  to  a  clan,  in  the  olden  time — The  McGregor 

clan.. . : . . . .  449 

English,  American,  and  Gipsy  races  mixed,  450 — Mixed  races  illus¬ 
trated  by  individual  families . . ;  -  451 

The  mixture  of  Gipsy  blood  always  leaves  the  issue  Gipsy — Jewish 

Gipsies  possible . ; .  451 

How  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies  has  hitherto  been  treated — It  is  neces¬ 
sary  to  sound  the  mind  of  the  Gipsy .  452 


INDEX. 


551 


PAGE 

The  life  of  a  superior  Gipsy  compared  to  a  continual  conspiracy 

against  society .  453 

The  position  occupied  by  the  popular  kind  of  Gipsy — His  ideas  on  the 

persecutions  of  his  race .  453 

The  condition  from  which  all  Gipsies  have  sprung — Popular  preju¬ 
dices  and  ideas .  454 

The  introduction  of  German  blood  into  Great  Britain  and  America. .  454 

How  the  Gipsies  have  encreased  and  spread — Native  blood  has  been 

lost  among  them .  455 

The  introduction  of  Huguenot  blood  into  Great  Britain  and  America,  455 
The  Gipsies  have  hitherto  been  “strangers  in  the  land,”  unacknowl¬ 
edged  by  others .  456 

The  principles  of  Gipsy  nationality — Gipsies  like  Free-masons .  456 

Gipsydom  is  not  a  creed,  but  a  work  stamped  by  Providence  on  the 

heart  of  the  tribe .  457 

Blood,  language,  a  cast  of  miud,  and  signs  specially  constitute  the 

Gipsy  nationality .  457' 

The  possession  of  a  special  religion  not  necessary  to  constitute  a  peo¬ 
ple  distinct  from  others .  457 

The  same  principle  illustrated  in  races,  clans,  families,  or  individuals, 

living  in  the  same  community .  458 

The  existence  of  the  Gipsies  is  natural,  it  resembles  that  of  the  Jews; 

neither  is  miraculous .  458 

Philosophical  historians  on  the  existence  of  the  Jews  since  the  dis¬ 
persion  .  456 

By  what  human  means  can  Jews  cease  to  be  Jews,  individually  or 

nationally? .  459 

A  writer  on  the  Christian  Evidences,  in  describing  the  existence  of 

the  Jews,  gambles  away  revelation .  459 

His  language  on  the  subject  of  the  Jews  very  applicable  to  the  exist¬ 
ence  of  the  Gipsies .  459 

No  outward  difference  between  many  Gipsy  and  native  Scotch .  460 

How  Scottish  Gipsies  deport  themselves  on  meeting — Civilized  and 

hit$h  Gipsies .  460 

The  general  difference  between  Gipsy  and  native  Scotch  people .  461 

A  mixed  Gipsy  has  sometimes  “  various  bloods”  to  contend  for .  461 

What  Scottish  Gipsies  think  of  their  ancestors  and  language .  462 

The  Scottish  Gipsies,  as  they  acquire  education,  become  superior  in 

character .  462 

The  children  of  civilized  and  barbarous  Gipsies  compared .  463 

The  singular  position  of  the  Gipsies,  from  generation  to  generation, 

and  century  to  century .  464 

How  the  gulf  between  the  Gipsies  and  the  native  race  is  to  be  bridged,  465 
The  Gipsies,  on  their  arrival  in  Europe,  were  barbarous,  like  other  races  465 

A  superior  Scottish  Gipsy  in  1540,  and  1840 .  466 

The  Gipsies  never  were  a  nomadic  race,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  the 

word .  466 

General  description  of  the  occupations  and  characters  of  the  original 

Gipsies .  .  467 

The  superior  characters  of  the  early  Scottish  Gipsy  chiefs — Their  treat¬ 
ment  by  the  natives .  467 

The  character  of  a  superior  Spanish  Gipsy,  in  1584  . n468 

Mixture  of  “  the  blood”  on  arrival,  468 — Intermarriages  under  certain 

circumstances . 469 

The  plans  of  the  Gipsies  to  secure  their  position  in  the  country — Ille¬ 
gitimate  children .  469 

The  attachment  of  Jewesses  and  Gipsies  to  their  respective  races.. . .  410 

The  protection  of  the  Baillies,  of  Lamington,  to  the  Gipsies  of  that 

name .  470 

Two  Gipsies  pardoned  through  the  intercession  of  the  Duchess  of 
Gordon .  470 


652 


INDEX. 


PAGB 

Scotland  became  the  home  of  the  tribe,  as  much  as  that  of  the  ordinary 

natives . 471 

Effects  of  the  mixture  of  Gipsy  blood — Intermarriages  among  natives 

of  different  ranks .  472 

The  census  need  not  be  consulted  for  the  number  of  the  Gipsy  popu¬ 
lation  .  472 

How  the  Jewish  race  is  perpetuated — Their  religion  of  secondary  im¬ 
portance .  473 

Christian  Jews — Their  feelings  of  nationality — No  prejudices  against 

them,  or  civilized  Gipsies .  474 

The  rearing  of  Gipsies  and  Jews,  in  what  respect  they  resemble  each 

other .  475 

The  Gipsies  stand  towards  religions,  as  Christianity  does  towards 

races .  475 

The  purity  of  Jewish  blood  a  figment,  475 — What  may  be  termed  a 

“pure  jew” .  477 

The  relative  positions  of  Jews  and  Gipsies <  Gipsies  troublesome,  but 

not  scoffers  at  religion . 477 

The  want  of  a  religion  among  the  Gipsies — Their  feelings  in  regard 

thereto . . .  ...  478 

The  ways  of  Scottish  Gipsies  and  Highland  Scotch .  478 

Scottish  Gipsies  are  British  subjects — Their  romantic  descent .  479 

Tacitus’  account  of  the  destruction  of  the  Druids,  in  the  island  of  An¬ 
glesey . . . m479 

The  weak  position  of  the  Gipsies— Jewish  and  Gipsy  literature .  480 

The  being  a  Gipsy,  as  distinguished  from  objectionable  habits,  im¬ 
material  to  the  world . . .  481 

The  probable  result  of  the  word  Gipsy  being  as  much  respected  as  it 

is  now  despised . . . . . . . . .  481 

The  Gipsies  originally  a  wandering,  tented  tribe,  with  habits  peculiar 

to  itself . 481 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  tribe  becoming  settled  and  civilized.  482 
The  manner  in  which  the  Gipsies  gradually  acquire  honest  habits. . .  482 

Public  sympathy  for  the  Gipsies,  in  preference  to  the  Jews .  483 

No  prejudice  should  be  entertained  for  well-behaved  Gipsies .  484 

The  Jews  are  disliked,  and  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  strangers  every¬ 
where  . 484 

They  are  rebels  against  Heaven — “  Which  of  the  prophets  have  they 

not  persecuted  ?” . 484 

The  interest  of  the  Christian  in  their  history — Their  crucifixion  of 

the  Messiah — How  they  treat  his  mission .  485 

Their  antagonistic  position  towards  every  people  and  religion,  486 

— Their  personal  characters .  487 

The  destruction  of  Jerusalem  confirmed  the  Jews  in  the  idea  that 

theirs  was  a  scattered  people .  487 

The  existence  of  the  Jews,  since  the  dispersion,  not  in  itself  won¬ 
derful  .  488 

The  Jew’s  nationality  is  everywhere — His  aversion  to  forsake  his 

own  race  or  community . 488 

The  Jews  are  a  race— A  Christian  Jewish  church  possible — Its  posi¬ 
tion  and  aspects .  488 

The  present  position  of  Christian  Jews,  488 — The  relation  of  a 

Christian  Jewish  Church  to  the  Mosaic  law . . .  489 

The  scriptural  idea  of  a  Messiah — Christian  Jews  incog. — The  con¬ 
version  of  Jews  generally . . .  489 

It  is  no  elevated  regard  for  Moses  that  prevents  Jews  entertaining 

the  claims  of  Jesus  Christ .  490 

But  rather  the  phenomena  connected  with  the  history  of  their  race.  490 
The  Jews  exist  under  a  spell — The  prophecy  of  Moses  regarding 

the  Gipsies,  n . 491 

The  Jews  are  not  apt  to  notice  the  present  work .  «491 


INDEX. 


553 


PAGE 

The  population  of  the  Gipsies  scattered  over  the  world .  491 

How  the  laws  passed  against  the  Gipsies  were  generally  rendered 

nugatory .  492 

Grellmann’s  estimate — The  probable  number  of  Gipsies  in  Europe 

and  America .  493 

The  population  of  the  Jews  scattered  over  the  world .  »493 

Christians  delude  the  Jews  in  regard  to  the  existence  of  their  race 

being  a  miracle .  493 

The  Jew’s  idea  of  the  existence  of  his  race  is  the  greatest  bar  to  his 

conversion  to  Christianity .  494 

The  “mixed  multitude”  of  the  Exodus  was  doubtless  the  origin  of 

the  Gipsies .  494 

The  meaning  of  Gamaliel’s  advice— St.  Paul  before  the  Jewish 

council .  «494 

The  history  of  the  Gipsies  and  the  Jews  greatly  illustrate  each  other  496 

The  distinction  between  an  Englishman  and  an  English  Jew .  490 

Persecutions  of  races  generally — How  to  prevent  a  Gipsy  being  a 

Gipsy .  496 

Tacitus  on  the  religion  of  slaves .  »496 

Birth  and  rearing  constitute  Jews,  Gipsies,  and  Gentiles .  497 

Christian  Jews  persecuted  by  their  own  race — The  Disraeli  and 

Cappadoce  families .  497 

Christianity  was  not  intended,  nor  is  it  capable,  to  destroy  the  na¬ 
tionality  of  Jews .  498 

The  Jew  may  be  crossed  out  by  intermarriage— The  Gipsy  absorbs 

other  races .  498 

Gipsies  and  Jews  have  each  a  peculiarly  original  and  distinct  soul 

of  nationality .  499 

Each  race  maintains  its  identity  in  the  world,  and  may  be  said  to 

be  even  eternal .  499 

Comparison  and  contrast  between  Gipsies  and  Jews .  499 

The  existence  of  the  Jews,  like  that  of  the  Gipsies,  rests  upon  a 

question  of  people  .  501 

The  religion  of  the  Jews,  501 — Their  idea  of  a  Messiah .  502 

Difference  between  Judaism  and  Christianity .  502 

The  position  of  Jews  towards  Christianity  and  other  religions .  502 

The  persecutions  of  Jews  and  Gipsies— The  extent  of  a  Gipsy’s 

wants .  502 

The  Jews  show  little  regard  for  their  religion,  when  tolerated  and 

well  treated .  503 

The  prejudice  against  Jews — Their  ideas  of  their  race,  as  distin¬ 
guished  from  others .  503 

The  treatment  of  Christians  by  Jews .  504 

What  has  the  Jew  got  to  say  to  this  subject  generally? .  504 

The  philosophy  of  the  Gipsies — Popular  ideas  in  regard  to  them — A 

mental  phenomenon .  505 

A  regard  to  facts — The  Gipsy  language — Two  races  living  on  the 

same  soil .  506 

The  Gipsies  hide  their  race — The  kind  of  them  that  should  be  de¬ 
spised  .  506 

John  Bunyan  a  Gipsy,  whose  blood  was  mixed .  507 

All  the  Gipsies  tinkers,  either  literally,  figuratively,  or  representa¬ 
tively . .  507 

Lord  Macaulay  on  Bunyan  :  “the  tinkers  a  hereditary  caste” .  507 

In  what  respect  are  the  tinkers  a  native  “  hereditary  caste?” .  507 

Characters  in  Mr.  Borrow’s  Luvengro  and  Komauy  Rye — English 

Gipsies .  . 508,  w509 

Prejudice  against  Gipsies — The  legal  responsibility — the  Act  of 

f  Queen  Elizabeth . '. .  510 

Buuyan’s  tribe — His  great  desire  to  ascertain  whether  he  was  an 
Israelite .  510 

24 


654 


INDEX. 


A  Gipsy  family  (309-31 S)  that  illustrates  that  of  Bunyan..  . .  511 

The  reason  whv  Bunyan  imagined  he  was  a  Jew .  511 

The  Jews  not  then  tolerated  in  England — The  curiosity  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  regarding  the  Jews .  511 

Southey  on  tinkering  and  Bunyan’s  education — Bunj’an  had  doubt¬ 
less  a  Gipsy  pass .  512 

The  Dublin  University  Magazine  on  Bunyan’s  nationality .  512 

The  philosophy  of  race,  and  the  prejudice  of  caste  against  the 

Gipsies .  513 

Justice  Keeling  threatens  to  have  Bunyan  hanged  for  preaching...  nbl'6 
Bunyan  a  Gipsy  beyond  question — Lord  Macaulay  on  the  Pilgrim’s 

Progress .  514 

Religious  writers  averse  to  it  being  said  that  Bunyan  was  a  Gipsy. .  514 

Sir  Walter  Scott  and  Mr.  George  Offor  on  Bunvan’s  tribe  or  nation¬ 
ality . . . 515 

Bunyau’s  nationality  unacknowledged,  owing  to  popular  ignorance 

and  prejudice .  515 

Southey  on  Bunyan’s  family  and  fame — The  popularity  of  the  Pil¬ 
grim’s  Progress . 51G 

Bunyan’s  reserve — His  friends  and  enemies — He  cannot  get  justice 

done  to  him .  517 

Bunyan  and  the  Gipsy  language — He  was  perhaps  capable  of  writ¬ 
ing  in  it .  517 

The  prejudice  of  the  present  day — Bunsen  on  sound  judgment  and 

shallow  minds,  n . 513 

The  world  should  feel  relieved  by  it  being  shown  that  Bunyan  was 

a  Gipsy .  518 

Bunyan’s  pedigree — He  had  very  probably  no  English  blood  in  his 

veins .  518 

The  world  claims  Bunyan  as  a  man ;  England,  the  formation  of  his 

character .  519 

Bunyan’s  biographers  unjust  to  his  memory — His  general  as  well 

as  moral  character .  519 

Though  pious  and  peaceable,  he  yet  repelled  slanders  with  indigna¬ 
tion  .  520 

The  style  of  Bunyan’s  language  indicates  the  Gipsy  in  some  degree.  520 

The  indignities  cast  upon  Bunyan — The  way  in  which  he  treated 

them .  521 

Remarks  upon  Bunyan’s  enemies,  who  professed  themselves  to  be 

servants  of  Christ .  w521 

The  prejudice  of  caste  in  Great  Britain  exists  against  the  Gipsies 

exclusively .  521 

The  day  is  gone  by  when  it  cannot  be  said  who  John  Bunyan  was.  523 
Scantiness  of  information  in  Mr.  Borrow’s  works  on  the  subject  of 

the  Gipsies . 523 

American  people  are  not  expected  to  indulge  in  the  popular  prejudice 

against  the  Gipsies .  524 

American  religion  journals  decline  to  entertain  the  question  :  “Was 

John  Bunyan  a  Gipsy  ?” .  525 

The  peculiarities  of  Scottish  people  unfavourable  to  tbe  Gipsies 

owning  themselves  up  in  Scotland .  525 

The  nature  of  Scottish  quarrelsomeness,  526 — The  classes  favourable 

and  unfavourable  to  the  Gipsies .  527 

A  “model  Scot,”  after  his  kind,  528 — No  one  in  particular  to  blame 

for  the  position  occupied  by  the  Gipsies .  529 

Tbe  Gipsy  subject  interesting,  and  not  necessarily  low  or  vulgar, 

though  more  or  less  barbarous . . . . . . .... .  529 

Tbe  wild  Gipsies  should  be  reached  indirectly — Their  high  opinion 


John  Bunyan’s  celebrity — His  name  of  great  use  in  raising  up  that 
of  tbe  Gipsies .  530 


INDEX. 


555 


PAGE 

A  little  judgment  is  necessary  in  dealing  with  wild  or  any  kind  of 

Gipsies .  530 

The  peculiar  sensations  felt  in  coming  in  contact  with  wild  Gipsies. .  531 

Gipsies  are  Gipsies  to  the  last  drop  of  the  original  blood .  532 

The  history  of  the  Gipsies  a  singular  work  of  Providence .  532 

It  would  have  been  a  miracle  had  the  Jews  been  lost  among  mankind.  533 
What  a  miracle  is — The  existence  of  the  Jews  is  in  exact  harmony 

with  every  natural  law .  533 

A  prophecy  of  Moses  regarding  a  people  who  are  to  provoke  and 

anger  tire  Jews .  533 

A  thousand  years  hence  the  Gipsies  will  be  found  existing  in  the  world  534 
A  word  or  two  to  the  Gipsies,  aud  especially  the  Scottish  Gipsies  . . .  534 

A  word  or  two  to  the  Church,  and  people  generally:  “Was  John 

Bunyan  a  Gipsy?” . i _  535 

The  reason  why  we  know  so  little  about  the  Gipsies .  536 

A  word  or  two  to  some  of  the  critics .  537 

A  criticism  on  the  present  work,  while  in  prospect .  537 

DISRAELI,  the  present,  a  Jew,  though  a  Christian .  497 

DIVORCE  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  GIPSIES,  AND  SACRIFICE  OF 
HORSES. 

The  Gipsies  not  licentious  in  their  personal  morals — They  are  strict 

with  their  wives,  in  the  matter  of  chastity .  266 

Divorces  among  the  Gipsies  are  attended  with  much  grief  and  mourn¬ 
ing .  267 

Natural  that  the  Gipsies  should  have  as  singular  a  form  of  divorce  as 

that  of  marriage .  267 

The  nature  of  sacrifices — Their  universality  among  mankind .  267 

Why  was  the  Gipsy  sacrifice  of  the  horse  not  known  in  Scotland  be¬ 
fore  ? .  267 

The  Gipsies  have  a  great  affection  for  the  horse — They  will  not  eat  of 

that  animal,  n .  268 

Writers  have  made  no  discovery,  among  the  Gipsies,  of  a  religious 

nature .  268 

The  Gipsy  sacrifice  of  the  horse  a  proof  that  the  people  come  from 

Uindostan .  268 

The  idea  of  Gipsies  being  Tartars  strengthened  by  their  sacrifice  of 

the  horse .  269 

Other  natious  who  have  sacrificed  horses — The  Jews  in  the  time  of 

Josiah,  n .  269 

Popular  tradition,  among  the  natives,  that  Gipsies  separated  over  dead 

horses .  270 

Instances  accidentally  aud  partially  noticed  by  the  natives .  270 

“  Patricos”  performed  ceremonies  over  dead  horses,  in  England,  prior 

to  1674  .  :  271 

Preliminary  remarks  on  the  sacrifice  of  horses — “  The  sun  must  be  at 

its  height” .  271 

A  description  of  the  ceremony  of  sacrifice  and  divorce .  272 

The  horse  considered  in  the  place  of  the  woman,  272— Sometimes 

both  are  sacrificed .  273 

The  woman  dismissed,  with  a  bill  of  divorce — The  husband  and  his 

friends  then  eat  the  heart  of  the  horse .  274 

The  husband  may  marry  again,  but  the  wife  never .  274 

Her  fate,  if  she  loses  her  bill  of  divorce,  or  passes  herself  off’  as  never 

having  been  married .  274 

Spanish  Gipsy  widows,  according  to  Dr.  Bright .  «274 

A  Gipsy,  in  a  passion,  shoots  his  horse,  and  performs  the  ceremony  of 

divorce,  forthwith .  274 

The  sacrifice  of  the  horse  observed  by  the  Gipsies  in  Russia .  275 

They  do  it  in  the  woods,  under  night,  for  fear  of  the  police .  275 

The  Gipsies,  of  Yetholm,  knock  down  their  asses,  when  they  sepa¬ 
rate  from  their  wives . i .  276 


556 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

The  sacrifice  of  the  horse  in  ancient  India,  known  as  the  Assummeed 

Jugg . . . . .  . . .  276 

The  explanation  of  the  mystic  meaning  contained  in  that  sacrifice  . . .  277 

The  very  acme  and  enthusiasm  of  allegory  in  an  Asiatic  genius .  279 

The  ancient  Hindoo  sacrifice  of  the  horse  and  the  scape-goat  of  the 

Jews  compared . .  279 

The  Gipsy  and  ancient  Hindoo  sacrifice  of  the  horse  compared .  279 

Both  offered  to  the  sun — Travelling  Gipsies  change  their  names  at 

noon . .  280 

Robert  Southey  aud  Colonel  Tod  on  the  sacrifice  of  the  horse  in 

India .  280 

The  sacrifice  of  the  horse  by  the  Gipsies,  a  proof  that  the  people  came 

from  India .  280 

DRESS  OF  THE  GIPSIES,  43,  77,  79,  108,  116,  129,  145,  149,  154,  157, 

162,  171,  177,  182,  186,  197,  202,  209,  213,  214. 

DRUIDS,  destruction  of  the,  in  the  Island  of  Anglesey .  w479 

DUBLIN  UNIVERSITY  MAGAZINE. 

The  number  of  words  sufficient  for  every-day  use,  in  any  language  .  »432 

Runyan's  nationality  :  “  Was  John  Bunyan  a  Gipsy” .  512 

EDINBURGH  REVIEW,  The,  on  the  purity  of  Gipsy  blood — Mr.  Bor- 

row’s  “  Gipsies  in  Spain  ” .  374 

EDITOR’S  INTRODUCTION. 

The  discovery  aud  history  of  barbarous  races  illustrate  the  history  of 

man,  and  natural  and  revealed  religion .  27 

Barbarism  within,  and  barbarism  without,  the  circle  of  civilization..  27 
The  Gipsies  an  anomaly  in  the  history  of  civilization,  and  merit  great 

consideration .  27 

European  civilization  progressive,  and  homogeneous  in  its  nature  ...  28 

Asiatic  civilization  stationary  and,  in  some  countries,  divided  into 

castes .  28 

The  nature  of  caste  in  India,  28 — The  natives  of  certain  parts  of 

Oceanic  Asia .  29 

The  condition  of  the  most  original  kind  of  Gipsies,  in  Great  Britain — 

Their  secrecy .  .  29 

Description  of  Gipsy  life  in  England,  by  Dr.  Bright .  30 

The  first  appearance  of  the  Gipsies  in  Europe — Attempts  at  elucidat¬ 
ing  their  history .  31 

The  political  state  of  Europe  at  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century  31 
The  great  schism  in  the  church — Three  Popes  reigning  at  one  time  . .  32 

The  educational  and  social  condition  of  Europe  about  that  time .  33 

The  manner  in  which  the  Gipsies  stole  into  Europe .  35 

The  influx  of  the  Greeks  into  Europe — The  literary  pursuits  of  the 

age,  37 — English  travellers  . .  38 

The  Gipsies  not  Sudras — Timour — The  Gipsies  at  Samarcand  pre¬ 
vious  to  his  invasion  of  India .  39 

The  Gipsies  did  not  obtain  the  name  of  Egyptians  from  others,  as 

Mr.  Borrow  supposes .  39 

The  Gipsies  are  not  the  Egyptians  mentioned  by  the  Prophet  Ezekiel,  40 
What  misleads  writers  in  their  ideas  that  the  Gipsies  are  not  Egypt¬ 
ians  . 41 

The  relative  position  borne  by  the  early  Gipsies  to  the  various  classes 

of  society .  41 

The  travelling  Gipsies  much  fallen  below  those  of  the  olden  times  ...  43 

The  dread  always  entertained  for  the  tribe,  44 — File-raising  and  child¬ 
stealing .  45 

The  Gipsies  frighten  children,  46— And  act  as  police,  or  scare-crows, 

for  farmers .  47 

The  ferocity  of  Gipsy  women,  47 — Sir  Walter  Scott’s  recollections  of 

the  original  of  Meg  Merrilies . 48 

The  intercourse  between  the  tribe  and  the  farmers,  in  pastoral  dis¬ 
tricts . 48 


INDEX. 


557 


PAOE 


The  timidity  of  the  Gipsies,  when  accosted  under  certain  circum¬ 
stances  .  49 

Comparison  between  Africans,  in  America,  and  the  Gipsy  race  gen¬ 
erally  .  £0 

Some  of  the  causes  of  the  isolation  of  the  Gipsies  from  the  rest  of  the 

world .  51 

The  history  of  the  Gipsies  somewhat  illustrated  by  that  of  the  Am¬ 
erican  Indians .  53 

The  prejudice  agaiust  Africans  and  Gipsies  contrasted .  54 

EDITOR’S  PREFACE. 

When  this  work  should  have  been  published— It  has  been  brought 

down  to  the  present  time .  5 

Inducements  to  hazard  a  publication  of  it  at  one  time .  5 

Sir  Walter  Scott’s  judicious  advice  regarding  the  publication  of  the 

work .  5 

The  abuse  of  reviewers  and  the  ire  of  wandering  Egvptians  deprecated  5 

Mr.  Borrow’s  publications  since  this  work  was  written .  t> 

Scottish  Church  Gipsy  mission — Scottish  Gipsy  clergyman  of  eminence  6 
The  Gipsies  have  encreased  since  the  peace  of  1815,  but  have  retired 

from  observation .  6 

The  reason  for  this  work  being  published  in  America — Popular  preju¬ 
dice  against  the  Gipsies .  6 

Scottish  antiquaries — Their  apathy  aud  contempt  for  the  subject  of 

the  Gipsies .  nl 

The  present  work  illustrates  the  Gipsies  everywhere — The  subject 

hardly  known  to  the  world .  7 

Tinkler  the  name  generally  applied  to  the  Scottish  Gipsies — tinker  a 

Gipsy  word .  nl 

The  subject  interesting — Observation  necessary  to  solve  the  problem.  8 

Professor  Wilson  travels  with  the  Gipsies — The  author’s  associations 

with  them .  8 

The  nomadic  Gipsies  only  a  part  of  the  race,  8 — The  blood  of  the  tribe 

much  mixed — Causes  thereof. .  9 

Persecutions — Children  stolen  and  incorporated  with  the  tribe — Mr. 

Borrow’s  remarks  thereon,  . j . 

Prejudices  against  the  Gipsies — Their  love  of  race  and  language _  10 

The  primitive  state  of  the  tribe — Causes  and  manner  of  leaving  the 

tent .  10 

Associations  after  leaving  the  tent,  and  feelings  towards  the  com¬ 
munity .  11 

Their  resentment  of  the  popular  prejudice — Their  boast  of  ancestry..  11 
Ideas  and  feelings  of  the  natives,  12 — The  Gipsy’s  love  of  language — 

His  associations .  13 

Speculations  on  the  origin  of  the  Gipsies,  13 — They  are  the  “  mixed 

multitude”  of  the  Exodus .  11 

Mode  of  escape  from  Egypt,  17 — Entrance  into  India,  aud  formation 

of  their  character  as  a  people .  21 

Their  present  language  acquired  in  India— Mr.  Borrow’s  remarks  on 

its  antiquity .  23 

The  philosophy  of  the  preservation  of  the  Gipsy  language  in  Europe 

till  now .  33 

Sir  Walter  Scott’s  intended  account  of  the  Gipsies — The  difficulty  as 

to  their  language .  25 

He  urges  the  publication  of  the  present  work— Its  character  as  a  his¬ 
tory  of  the  tribe .  25 

It  is  a  contribution  towards  the  filling  up  of  a  void  in  literature .  25 

EDUCATION  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES . 65,  125,  248,  254.  303,  364,  369 

EGYPT. 

The  Gipsies  originated  in,  14,  39 — They  are  the  ‘‘mixed  multitude” 


of  the  Exodus . 14,  494 


658 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

ENGLISH  GIPSIES. 

Their  arrival  about  the  year  1512 — A  description  of  them  in  a  wort, 

published  in  1(112 .  90 

Act  of  22d  Henry  VIII. — Burnet’s  allusion  to  English  Gipsies,  in  1549  91 

Act  of  27th  Henry  VIII. — A  fine  of  forty  pounds  for  every  Gipsy  im¬ 
ported .  91 

Act  of  Queen  Elizabeth — Felony  for  strangers  to  associate  with  the 

Gipsies .  92 

Last  of  the  executions  under  Charles  II. — The  Gipsies  still  liable  under 

the  Vagrant  Act .  92 

Number  of  Gipsies  in  England  during  the  time  of  Queen  Elizabeth. .  92 

Estimate  of  their  present  number,  by  Mr.  Hoylaud,  and  a  member  of 

parliament .  92 

Author’s  remarks,  and  editor’s  comments  thereon .  m93 

Mr.  Borrow’s  description  of  the  English  Gipsies,  and  the  English 

dialect  spoken  by  them .  »93 

English  Gipsies  travel  in  Scotland — A  description  of  a  camp  of  them  93 

Adventure  of  a  Scotchman  among  the  Gipsies  in  England .  95 

Crime  among  the  English  Gipsies — Report  on  the  prisons  in  North¬ 
umberland .  9G 

Sketch  of  an  English  Gipsy  family  arriving  iu  Scotland,  by  Sir  Wal-  • 

ter  Scott .  96 

EXECUTIONS  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES . 85,  119,  133,  143,  201,  513 

FALLS,  Merchants,  of  Dunbar,  Gipsies .  108,  237-241,  251,  252,  406 

Will  Faa,  the  Gipsy  king,  claims  them  as  his  relatives .  »238,  251 

FARMERS. 

Their  property  protected  by  the  Gipsies . » .  47,  363,  434 

How  they  sometimes  treat  the  Gipsies  .  .48,  55,  56,  187,  ?H79,  220,  221,  226, 

242,  361 


FIFE  AND  STIRLINGSHIRE  GIPSIES. 

The  county  of  Fife  contained,  at  one  time,  a  great  many  nomadic 

Gipsies .  140 

The  tribe,  at  one  time,  possessed  a  foundry  near  St.  Andrews,  called 

“  Little  Carron  ” .  140 

Locligellie  Gipsies  more  particularly  described .  140 

Description  of  Locbgellie  and  other  places,  illustrative  of  Gipsy  quar¬ 
ters,  in  olden  times . . .  140 

Description  of  Falkland  “  scrapies  ”  .  »140 

Principal  names  of  Locligellie  Gipsies  and  their  connexions .  141 

The  tribe  feared  all  over  the  shires  of  Fife,  Kinross,  Perth,  Angus, 

and  Aberdeen .  141 

Old  Charles  Graham — “  The  auld  thing  again,  my  lord,  but  nae  proof”  142 
His  wife  banished  to  Botany  Bay — Marries  a  Gipsy  there,  and  returns 

rich .  142 

Young  Charles  Graham  apprehended — His  irritation  at  the  crowd 
staring  at  him — He  steals  a  farmer’s  horse,  sells  it,  steals  it  again, 
and  returns  it  to  the  original  owner,  142 — Robs  a  factor,  and  gives 
the  money  to  a  needy  widow — He  is  apparently  penitent  at  the  gal¬ 
lows,  143 — But  kicks  off  his  shoes,  and  addresses  the  people .  144 

Hugh  Graham  stabbed  by  John  Young,  who  is  hunted  like  a  fox, 

before  he  is  apprehended .  145 

Jenny  Graham  leaves  her  protector,  to  follow  the  gang,  and  take 

care  of  its  stolen  articles .  145 

Margaret  Graham,  a  woman  of  uncommon  bodily  strength .  145 

John  Young,  who  stabbed  Hugh  Graham,  although  five  feet  ten  inches 
in  height,  is  called  by  his  mother,  “  The  dwarf  o’  a’  my  bairns  ”...  145 

Peter  Young,  a  generous  man — He  breaks  out  of  many  prisons  before 

he  is  hanged .  145 

Old  John  Young,  on  being  asked  where  his  sons  were,  replied,  “  They 

are  all  hanged” .  145 

Charles  Brown,  killed  in  a  Gipsy  battle  at  Ruploch,  near  Stirling _  147 


INDEX. 


559 


rAQB 

Alexander  Brown  steals  and  carries  off  an  ox  in  disguise .  148 

Billy  Marshall  robs  the  Laird  of  Bargally,  and  saves  an  innocent  man 

from  the  gallows .  »148 

He  is  nearly  frightened  out  of  his  wits,  under  very  ludicrous  circum¬ 
stances .  nl48 

Alexander  Brown’s  capture  and  audacious  escape — His  style  when  in 
full  dress,  149— His  disguise  as  a  mounted  man  of  quality,  150 — 

His  capture  by  Highlanders,  and  desperate  resistance,  and  execu¬ 
tion  . r51 

Martha,  mother  of  Alexander  Brown,  steals  sheets  while  attending 

his  execution .  152 

William  Brown  is  run  down  by  the  military — His  threatened  rescue 
by  the  tribe — He  sets  fire  to  the  jail,  but  is  put  in  irons  by  a  soldier 

— His  execution .  152 

Lizzie  Brown,  in  a  Gipsy  fray — “  In  the  middle  o’  the  meantime, 

where’s  my  nose  V” .  153 

The  connexions  of  the  Gipsies,  and  the  ramifications  of  their  society,  153 
Charles  Stewart — His  royal  blood,  style  of  dress,  and  audacity  of  con¬ 
duct .  153 

Grellmann’s  description  of  the  attire  of  a  Gipsy  .  al54 

The  unabashed  hardihood  of  Gipsies  in  the  face  of  suspicion .  »155 

Jamie  Robertson,  a  great  musician — He  resents  an  imagined  uffrout 

to  an  absent  friend .  155 

His  wife  sentenced  to  Botany  Bay,  but,  owing  to  her  advanced  age, 

set  at  liberty .  156 

Joyce  Robertson’s  daring  robbery  while  in  prison — His  deliberate 
escape — He  steals  a  watch,  and  has  the  crowd  at  his  heels .  156 


Charles  Wilson,  very  respectable  in  his  appearance  and  character,  as 
a  horse-dealer,  157 — Received  and  vended  stolen  goods  through  the 
country — Was  chief  of  his  tribe,  and,  as  such,  issued  passes,  1 58 — 
lie  returns  money  stolen  from  a  young  countryman — Becomes  re¬ 
duced  to  poverty  in  bis  old  age,  aud  dies  in  full  communion  with 


the  church . 161 

Charles  Wilson’s  daughters — One  of  them  kept  bv  an  Adjutant — Their 

disguises  aud  pilferings-y-The  Brae  Laird  of  Kinross-shire .  162 

Stirlingshire  Gipsies  contributed  their  full  share  to  the  gallows .  163 

The  Gipsies  a  predatory  tribe  originally — Two  kinds  of  them  at  the 

present  day . . .  164 

Other  people  robbers  besides  the  Gipsies — Spartans,  Abyssinians, 

Moors,  East  Indians,  Coords,  Kamtschadales,  Scotch,  n .  164 

Training  of  the  Gipsies  to  theft  by  the  women,  167 — A  Gipsy  picks  a 

countryman’s  pocket  with  great  dexterity .  168 

Thieves  formed  into  bands — Modes  of  operation,  and  division  of  the 

spoil .  169 

Vidocq  on  the  pilfering  habits  of  the  Continental  Gipsies .  »169 

Male  Gipsies  cut  purses  with  palms,  the  females  with  rings .  170 

Mode  of  thieving  among  the  Gipsies  in  Hungary .  171 

A  magistrate,  in  the  West  of  Fife,  locks  up  the  Gipsies  during  the  fair  171 
Stylish  habits  of  the  Gipsies  at  the  inn  of  the  North  Queensferry  ....  171 

Fashionable  cavalcade  of  female  Gipsies  departing  from  the  ferry  . . .  173 

Intimacy  between  the  boatmen  and  their  friends— “  The  lads  that 

take  the  purses” .  173 

Trick  of  a  gillie  of  a  Gipsv  horse-dealer,  played  upon  an  Highlander.  173 

Counterfeiting — Au  audacious  Gipsy  counterfeiter .  174 

The  Gipsies  not  murderers — They  are  accurate  in  their  journeys  and 

halting  places .  175 

Pursuit,  capture,  escape,  and  recapture  of  a  Gipsy  murderer .  176 

Indecent  trick  of  a  Gipsy  woman  to  obtain  clothes  from  the  natives..  177 
A  handsomely  dressed  female  Gipsy,  from  gratitude,  saves  a  native 

from  destruction . 177 

Old  Will  of  I'haun’s  five  years’  war  with  the  Gipsies .  nl79 


560 


INDEX. 


PAOB 


Gipsy  Dances— Charles  Stewart,  179— George  Drummond— Gipsy 

dance  at  Moscow . .  .  180 

Afghan  dance  n— George  Drummond  a  singular  Gipsy .  1S1 

Janies  Robertson,  his  wife,  and  sisters  dance  like  bacchanalians .  182 

Occupations,  amusements,  cock-fighting,  dress,  and  generous  habits 

of  the  Gipsies .  182 

The  Gipsies  sometimes  attend  church,  and  baptize  their  own  children  183 
Their  disputes  with  clergymen  on  points  of  morals— Government— di¬ 
vision  of  property .  183 

A  landed  gentleman  went  off  with  the  Gipsies,  183— liis  daughters 

common  Gipsies  .  184 

FIGHTING  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES— (Nee  also  Battles.)  125|  144,  188,  »193, 

Til 95,  206,  215,  253 

FLETCHER  OF  SALTOUN  on  Scottish  vagabonds,  in  1680 . will,  «417 

FORTUNE-TELLING. 


Fortune-telling  women  frighten  the  Datives  of  the  other  sex .  47 

See  Tweed-dale  Gipsies .  .  228-231 

Fortune-telling  in  America —  See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies .  422 


GENTOO  CODE  OF  LAWS  IN  ANCIENT  INDIA. 

Division  of  plunder  among  thieves .  165 

The  elder  married  before  the  younger,  259— Sacrifice  of  the  horse, 

268 — The  scape-goat  among  the  Jews .  279 

GERMANS,  how  they  become  lost  in  the  population  of  Great  Britain  and 

America .  454 

GERMANY,  Gipsy  bands  in .  79 

G1TANO,  modification  of  the  term .  wll5 

GORDON,  THE  DUCHESS  OF,  saves  two  Gipsies  from  the  gallows _  470 

GOVERNMENT  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES,  78,  nl03,  183,  187,  218,  253,  m256,  422 


GRATITUDE  OF  THE  GIPSIES  FOR  OTHER  PEOPLE,  ..63,  130,  138,  155, 


164,  177,  187,  198,  211,  222,  225,  241  360,  434,  483 

GRELLMANN. 

Children  frightened  by  the  Gipsies .  «46,  75 

On  the  destiny  of  the  French  Gipsies .  76,  492 

He  divides  the  Gipsies  iu  Transylvania  into  four  classes,  74 — The 

population  of  the  Gipsies .  77,  493 

Gipsy  government,  78 — Attire,  ral54 — Plundering,  171 — Fighting. .  . .  »193 

Gipsies  under  and  after  punishment . «204 

The  habit  of  Gipsy  women  after  childbirth .  n227 

Gipsy  working  iu  iron — Gipsy  smiths  in  Hungary . «234 

The  Gipsies  will  eat  of  any  animal  but  a  horse .  «268 

The  secrecy  of  the  Gipsies  in  the  matter  of  their  language .  «28l 

The  Gipsy  language  unintelligible  to  the  comraou  natives . «298 

On  the  education  of  Hungarian  Gipsies . .  «303 

The  origin  of  the  idea  that  the  Gipsies  came  from  India .  329 

On  the  variations  in  the  Gipsy  language  in  different  countries .  n339 

How  the  Gipsies  resist  the  extremes  of  the  weather .  »354 

The  circumstances  under  which  Gipsy  women  are  confined .  ?t357 

The  physical  properties  of  the  Gipsy  race .  n 358 

Gipsies  as  soldiers,  n3-‘>9— As  spips .  n.360 

The  religion  of  the  Gipsies,  »366 — Their  civilization  .  zi367 

On  the  colour  and  appearance  of  Gipsies  who  change  their  habits. . .  »377 

The  natural  capacity  of  Gipsies,  398— Gipsy  ingratitude .  435 

Gipsies  “  alwavs  merry  and  blithe  ” .  483 

HALE,  SIR  MATTHEW 

His  touching  interview  with  Btinyau’s  wife . «313 

He  mentions  the  execution  of  thirteen  Gipsies,  at  the  Suffolk  assizes,  »513 
HATRED  OF  THE  GIPSIES  FOR  OTHER  PEOPLE,  ....63,  130,  164,  177, 

See  Disquisition .  433-436 

HEBER,  BISHOP,  notices  the  Gipsies  in  India,  Persia,  Russia,  and  Eng¬ 
land .  77 


INDEX. 


561 


PAGB 

HINDOSTAN,  the  Gipsies  supposed  to  originate  in  ...  .13,  38,  40,  65,  268,  280, 

329,  339 

HOGG,  JAMES 

Motto  —  Title  page. 

He  notices  a  Gipsy  scuffle  and  murder  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine .  216 

lie  says  that  Lochmaben  is  “stocked”  with  Gipsies .  71381 

HOYLAND,  JOHN. 

The  religious  character  of  the  Gipsies .  73 

The  capacity  of  the  early  Gipsies,  »99 — English  Gipsy  surnames _ n219 

Baillie  Smith,  of  Kelso — Report  on  the  Yetholm  Gipsies .  ...  245 

The  difficulty  in  Gipsies  acquiring  settled  habits .  ra368 

Mr.  George  Offor  says  he  was  led  captive  by  a  Gipsy  girl .  n380 

HUGUENOTS  introduced  into  England  and  America .  455 

HUME,  BARON. 

Scots  acts  of  1603,  and  1609,  against  the  Gipsies .  Ill 

Executions  among  the  Gipsies,  under  these  sanguinary  laws . 117,  »41S 

Trial  of  two  Gipsies,  in  1786,  139 — Baillie,  in  1714,  204 — And  Pinker¬ 
ton,  in  1726  .  207 

He  would  make  the  black  eyes  evidence  against  the  Gipsies .  341 

HUNGARIANS,  past  and  present,  413 — They  know  nothing  of  their 

origiu .  495 

HURD,  DR. 

The  appearance  of  the  Gipsies  when  they  first  arrived  in  Paris .  70 

The  Gipsies  called  spies  of  the  Turks .  »72 

Marriage  customs  among  the  Russians,  and  Christians  of  Mesopo¬ 
tamia  and  Chaldea .  »262 

IMPROVEMENT  OF  THE  GIPSIES.. 364,  367,  415,  436,  440,  443,  445,  539,534 
INTRODUCTION. 

Attention  directed  towards  the  Gipsies  by  the  publication  of  Guy 

Manuering . 55 

The  classes  interested — A  mission  founded  by  the  Scottish  Church 

among  the  Gipsies .  55 

Articles  sent  to  Blackwood’s  Magazine — Letters  from  Mr.  Blackwood  56 
Article  by  Sir  Walter  Scott  on  the  Buckhaven  fishermen — The  zeal 
of  an  antiquary .  .  »57 


The  Scottish  Gipsies  a  branch  of  the  same  tribe  to  be  found  iu  every 

country .  61 

Comparisons  between  the  Gipsies  and  Jews — The  Jews’  letters  toVol- 

taire .  61 

Discontinuation  of  articles  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine — The  author’s 

authorities .  64 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  a  research  into  the  subject  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  .  65 

A  “  Blowing  up  ”  from  a  Gipsy  chief .  65 

Notice  from  Professor  Wilson,  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  and  Sir 

Walter  Scott,  in  Quentin  Durward .  66 

1NVERKEITUING,  GIPSY  SCENES  AT  . .  284,  288,  292,  293,  298,  302,  304, 

326,  328,  348,  353,  355 


JEWS,  THE 

The  Gipsies  the  “  mixed  multitude”  that  left  Egypt  with  the  Jews  14,  494 


They  were  separated  from  the  Egyptians  bv  the  prejudice  of  caste..  15 

They  termed  Jesus  Christ  “  Beelzebub” — the  priuce  of  devils .  16 

Their  reception  of  Christ  as  the  Messiah .  16 

Their  condition  while  in  Egypt .  17 

Theii  contemptuous  description  of  the  “  mixed  multitude”  that  fol¬ 
lowed  them .  19 

Their  circumstances  after  leaving  Egypt,  20 — The  destiuy  that  awaited 
them .  21 


662 


INDEX. 


PASS 

Comparisons  between  the  Jews  and  the  Gipsies .  55,  61,  62 

Letters  of  the  Jews  to  Voltaire — The  universality  and  differences  in 

the  Jews .  7i61 

They  change  their  names  in  various  countries .  nll7 

The  elder  sister  married  before  the  younger,  259 — Jewish  marriages.  269 
When  they  blow  rams’  horns  in  September,  they  imagine  they  drive 

away  the  devil . «265 

They  dedicated  horses  to  the  sun,  in  the  time  of  Josiah .  n.269 

Hindoo  sacrifice  of  the  horse  and  the  scape-goat  in  Leviticus  com¬ 
pared  .  279 

The  language  of  the  Jews  during  the  seventy  years’  captivity .  »318 

The  Gipsies  dislike  the  Jews,  -»358,  452 — Jews  during  time  of  war  . .  »360 

Neglect  of  women  among  Jews— A  Jew’s  morning  prayer .  fl.365 

Jews  and  Gipsies  compared  in  a  sermon  by  Mr.  Borrow .  »366 

They  marry  among  themselves,  like  the  Gipsies .  369 

The  money  that  is  squandered  on  the  conversion  of  Jews .  443 

The  subject  of  the  Jews  more  or  less  familiar  to  people  from  infancy  447 
The  Gipsies,  without  any  necessary  outward  peculiarities,  have  yet  a 

nationality,  like  the  Jews .  447,  457 

The  mixture  of  Gipsy  and  Jewish  blood — A  Jewish  Gipsy  possible  ..  451 

In  what  respect  the  existence  of  the  Gipsies  differs  from  that  of  the 

Jews .  458 

Philosophical  historians  on  the  existence  of  the  Jews  since  the  dis¬ 
persion .  458 

No  analogy  between  the  Jews  and  any  other  people  but  the  Gipsies. .  459 

A  Christian  writer  on  the  existence  of  the  Jews  since  the  dispersion.  459 
His  description  thereof,  though  erroneous,  very  applicable  to  the 

Gipsies .  460 

The  attachment  of  Jewesses  and  Gipsies  to  their  respective  races....  470 
How  the  Jewish  race  is  perpetuated — Religion  of  secondary  import¬ 
ance .  473 

Jewish  Chiistians — Their  feelings  of  nationality,  and  social  position  .  474 

The  rearing  of  Gipsies  resembles  that  of  Jews — The  purity  of  Jewish 

blood  a  figment .  475 

Half-blood  Jews  sometimes  follow  the  synagogue,  and  sometimes  the 

Christian  church .  476 

Many  Jews  who  are  not  known  to  the  world  as  such .  477 

Jewish  physiogomy — What  may  be  termed  a  “  pure  Jew  ” .  477 

The  relative  position  of  Jews  and  Gipsies .  477-480 

The  Jews  have  a  church,  a  history,  and  a  literature .  480 

Public  sympathy  for  the  Gipsies,  in  preference  to  the  Jews .  483 

The  philosophy  of  the  existence  of  the  Jew's  since  the  dispersion  See 

Disquisition  on  the  Gijjsies .  484-505 

John  Bunyan  asked  himself  whether  he  was  of  the  Israelites .  511 

The  Jews  readmitted  into  England,  under  Cromwell — Manasseh  Ben 

Israel .  511 

The  natural  curiosity  of  the  Gipsies  regarding  the  Jews .  511 

The  Gipsies  have  existed,  in  Europe,  a  greater  length  of  time  than 

the  Jews  dwelt  in  Egypt .  532 

It  would  have  been  a  miracle  had  the  Jews  been  lost  among  man¬ 
kind .  533 

A  prophecy  of  Moses  regarding  a  people  who  are  to  provoke  and 

anger  the  Jews .  «491,  533 

LAIDLAW,  WILLIAM 

His  letter  to  the  author,  5S — A  Gipsy  “  blowing  up,”  alluded  to  by 

him .  65,  309 

LANGUAGE  OE  THE  GIPSIES. 

The  love  of  Gipsies  for  their  language,  10,  13 — They  keep  it  a  pro¬ 
found  secret . .  12,  13,  25 

It  is  for  the  most  part  Hindostanee— Mr.  Borrow’s  remarks  on  its 
antiquity .  23 


INDEX. 


563 


PAQB 

The  philosophy  of  the  preservation  of  the  Gipsy  language  . .  24,  408,  433 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  very  reserved  and  tenacious  in  the  matter  of 

their  language . .  281 

Its  existence,  but  as  slang,  scarcely  credited  by  people  of  the  greatest 

intelligence .  281 

Grellmann,  Bright,  and  Borrow  on  the  difficulties  in  acquiring  the 

Gipsy  language .  n28I 

The  Gipsies  have  excellent  memories,  but  shuffle  when  bored  by 

people  of  whom  they  expect  money .  n282 

The  causes  of  the  reserve  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies :  1st.  The  san¬ 
guinary  laws.  2d.  The  popular  prejudice,  3d.  Their  natural  se¬ 
crecy  .  282 

A  Scottish  Gipsy  works  all  his  life  in  a  shop,  and  no  one  discovers 

him  to  be  a  Gipsy .  283 

Two  Gipsy  women  nearly  killed  by  colliers,  for  not  explaining  the 

meaning  of  two  Gipsy  words .  283 

As  the  Gipsies  become  civilized,  they  avoid  intercourse  with  the 

barbarous  part  of  the  race .  »283 

The  Scottish  peasantry,  in  some  places,  do  not  greatly  despise  the 

Gipsies .  ti284 

The  use  of  the  Gipsy  language  in  markets— The  pride  of  the  people 

as  linguists . 284 

Seven  years’  trouble  in  getting  a  Gipsy  woman  to  own  up  to  her  lan¬ 
guage  .  284 

She  is  afraid  the  public  would  treat  her  with  horror  and  contempt, 

for  knowing  the  language .  285 

The  character  of  Spanish  Gipsy  women,  according  to  Mr.  Borrow. . .  »285 
A  Gipsy  woman  maintains  she  was  speaking  Latin,  when  discovered 

conversing  in  Gipsy .  285 

The  general  difficulties  in  the  way  of  acquiring  the  Gipsy  language..  286 
The  way  in  which  the  author  learned  what  he  knew  of  the  Gipsy 

language .  286 

IIow  the  use  of  Gipsy  affected  the  tribe — Ludicrous  scenes .  287 

How  old  Gipsy  women  were  affected — “  You  are  no  gentleman,  sir, 

otherwise  you  would  not  insult  us  in  that  way  ” .  288 

A  woman,  in  a  dreadful  passion,  threatens  the  author  with  apprehen¬ 
sion,  as  the  head  of  a  band  of  thieves,  for  asking  her,  if  her  c/iavo 

(son)  was  a  chor  (thief) . > .  288 

A  female  Gipsy  “  blabs  ”  with  the  author,  but  expresses  great  sur¬ 
prise,  when  addressed  in  Gipsy,  before  a  third  party .  288 

These  people  afraid  of  the  sanguinary  laws  passed  against  the  tribe  .  290 

Sir  Walter  iocott’s  advice  in  prosecuting  an  enquiry  into  the  Gipsy 

language .  291 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  a  branch  of  the  tribe  to  be  found  everywhere...  291 
A  Gipsy  as  distinguished  from  his  language— The  race  comes  before 

the  speech . '.a292 

An  old  woman  and  her  two  daughters — “  No  harm  in  the  least,  sir, 


Two  girls,  oi' the  name  of  Jamieson — “You  gentlemen  understand 

..  1 1  1  _ _ _  _ _ _  .1 _ *>  - - -  ’ _ _ 


Four  or  live  children — “  You  are  a  Gipsy,  yourself,  sir,  or  you  never 


Ruthvcn  addresses  her  child  in  Gipsy — “  I  know  that  the  public  are 

trying  to  find  out  the  secrets  of  the  Gipsies,  but  it  is  in  vain  ” _  293 

The  threats  of  the  tribe  against  those  teaching  the  language  to 

“  strangers  ”  .  n294 

A  female  Gipsy,  with  three  or  four  children,  begging — “  Curse  you, 
take  the  road  ” — “  Mother,  mother,  come  away  ” — An  innkeeper 

anxious  to  learn  the  words  that  dismiss  importunate  beggars .  294 

Young  Andrew  Steedman,  of  Lochgellie,  communicative — Old  Andrew 
shakes  and  trembles  in  his  stable — “  Rob  that  person  ”..  .specimens  295 


564 


INDEX. 


The  woman  who  baffled  the  author  for  seven  years — “  It  is  in  our 
hearts,  and  as  long  as  a  single  Tinkler  exists,  it  will  be  remem¬ 
bered  ” . specimens 

A  woman  and  four  children — “  You  know  quite  well  what  he  says” — • 
“  I  am  sure  he  is  a  tramper,  and  can  speak  as  good  cant  as  any  of 

us  ” . specimens 

A  brother  and  a  cousin  of  the  Jamieson  girls — “So  I  saw,  for  .  .  .  . 
he  understood  what  I  said  ” — “  To  show  you  I  am  no  impostor,  I 
will  give  you  the  names  of  everything  in  your  house  ” — “  My  speech 
is  not  the  cant  of  packmen,  nor  the  slang  of  common  thieves”.... 

Gipsy-hunting  like  deer  stalking — Modern  Gipsy-hunting . 

Jamieson  returns — “  I  have  been  bred  in  that  line  all  my  life —  You 
are  welcome  to  as  many  as  you  please  ” — “  We  can  converse  and 
have  a  word  for  everything  in  our  speech  ” — He  sings  a  song  in 
English,  and  turns  it  into  Gipsy — “  Had  I,  at  first,  been  aware  you 
did  not  know  my  speech,  1  would  not  have  given  you  a  word 

of  it” . specimens 

The  songs  composed  by  the  Gipsies  illustrate  their  plunderings,  rob¬ 
beries  and  sufferings,  and  quarrels  among  themselves . 

The  Gipsies  very  fond  of  the  Border  marauding  songs — “Hughie  the 

Graeme,”  as  a  specimen . 

Sophia  Scott,  afterwards  Mrs.  Lockhart,  sings  “  Hughie  the  Graeme” 

to  the  author,  at  Abbotsford . 

Sir  Walter  Scott  interested  in  the  Gipsies — He  is  afraid  they  might 

injure  bis  plantations . 

The  author  visits  St,  Boswell’s  fair,  and  becomes  acquainted  with  a 

Gipsy  family  there . 

He  introduces  himself  by  saying  who  his  ancestors  were — “God 
bless  you  1  Ay,  those  days  are  gone  ;  Christian  charity  has  now 

left  the  land  ” . 

The  head  of  the  family  a  very  superior  man  ;  merry  and  jocular, 

like  many  of  his  race . 

Their  language—"  The  Tinklers  have  no  language  of  their  own, 

except  a  few  cant  words  ” . 

The  author  addresses  them  in  Gipsy — “  Preserve  me,  he  kens  a’ 

about  us  1” . 

He  enumerates  their  clan — “  Say  not  another  word,  but  call  at - ” 

The  surprise  among  the  natives — “  Yon  was  queer  looking  wark 

wi’  the  Tinklers” . 

An  innkeeper  ashamed,  or  afraid,  of  a  customer  that  is  a  gentle¬ 
man  . 

A  little  factory  of  horn-spoons — “  No  such  language  exists,  except  a 

few  cant  words  ” . 

Gipsy  obstinacy — The  word  “Gipsy”  a  terror  to  the  tribe — The 

Gipsy  forfeits  his  promise . 

Laughter  from  another  apartment — The  Gipsy  starts  to  his  feet,  and 
takes  hold  of  the  author — “  Farewell,  I  will  know  you  when  I 

see  you  again  ” . 

Revisit  to  the  factory  of  horn-spoons — The  Gipsy  ashamed  to  give 

his  language . 

A  promise  of  secrecy — The  Gipsy  cheerful,  he  hesitates,  but  at  last 

fulfills  his  oath . specimens 

Circumstances  illustrative  of  the  history  of  the  family  of  John 

Bunyan . 

The  Gipsies  a  tribe  of  Ethiopian  thieves  and  robbers,  815 — The 
pronunciation  of  their  speech — It  is  copious,  but  not  written — 
“  So  long  as  there  exist  two  Gipsies  in  Scotland,  it  will  never  be 

lost  ” . 

Gipsy  horse-dealers — “  Several  thousand  in  Scotland  acquainted 

with  the  Gipsy  tongue” . 

The  children  of  Gipsies  instructed  in  Gipsy,  from  their  infancy-  - 


P  AG  H 

296 

293 

301 

302 


304 

306 

308 
«308 
»309 

309 

309 

309 

310 

310 

310 

310 

311 
311 
311 

311 

312 
312 

»313 

31G 

316 


INDEX. 


565 


Their  pride  in  their  language .  316 

The  character  of  an  intelligent  Gipsy  chief .  316 

The  Gipsy  sings  a  song  in  Gipsy— The  Gipsies  have  doubtless  an 

oral  literature  n .  317 

A  great  alarm  in  the  family,  317 — “  Give  to  the  world  what  had 

been  theirs  for  350  years  ” .  318 

Smith  on  the  language  of  the  Jews  during  the  captivity — How  the 

Gipsy  tribe  will  relish  the  present  work .  ?i318 

A  tinker  at  Grangemouth  — “  Yes,  the  dog  is  not  bad” — “  What  do 

you  mean  ?  I  don’t  understand  you — Yes,  the  dog  is  hairy  ” .  319 

Thimbling  Gipsies — “  Chee,  ckee,"  (hold  your  tongue) — “But,  sir, 

what  was  that  you  said  to  them,  for  they  seem  afraid  ?” .  319 

The  author  taken  for  a  Thimbler — “  1  tell  ye,  woman,  the  man  you 

spoke  to  was  nothing  but  one  of  these  villains” .  w321 

A  Thimbler’s  sign— “  Where  can  you  find  a  shop  without  a  sign  ? 
and  where’s  the  other  person  that  gets  a  sign  from  the  publicvfor 

nothing?” .  »321 

Thimblers’  traps,  321— A  victim  drowns  himself .  322 

Thimblers’  conversation — “Bloody  swells” — “  I  will  require  three 

men  to  take  care  of  that  boat” .  323 

Is  that  man  a  Gipsy  ? — “  Ask  himself,  sir  ” .  323 

An  old  thimbling  Gipsy  attempts  to  inveigle  some  youths  on  Arthur’s 

Seat — “  Was’ut  he  a  slippery  old  serpent,  after  all?” . »323 

The  science  of  thimbling,  »324 — Thimble-riggers,  and  their  ancestry 

— Ancient  Egyptian  thimbling  n. .  325 

English,  Scottish,  and  Irish  Gipsies  speak  the  same  language,  and 

assist  each  other,  when  they  meet .  324 

An  Irish  Gipsy  family — An  ass  bearing  a  “bundle  of  bones” — 

“  Good-day,  sir,  God  bless  you  ”  .  326 

Two  Irish  Gipsies  in  court — “  Three  days,  and  be  banished  the 

town” .  326 

A  Gipsy  wife  a  go-between — “  The  scoundrel  shall  lie  in  prison  till 

the  last  hour  of  his  sentence  ” .  .  327 

An  escape,  and  a  “  banishing  the  town,”  327 — “  A  fight  for  the  sake 

of  friendship  ” . specimens 

A  horde  of  Irish  Gipsies — The  town-clerk  ashamed  of  his  company.. 

A  Gipsy  quizzes  his  friend—”  Y'ou  will  put  me  out,  by  speaking  to  me 

in  that  language” . specimens 

Irish  Gipsies  in  Scotland — Their  number,  appearance,  and  occupa¬ 
tions  . 

The  origin  of  the  idea  that  the  Gipsies  came  from  India .  329 

Scottish  Gipsy  words  collated  with  vulgar  Hindostanee .  330 

John  Lobbs,  a  low  caste  native  of  Bombay,  examined . specimens  330 

Rev.  Mr.  Crabb’s  annual  Gipsy  festival — The  Hindostanee  and  Gipsy 

languages .  »334 

Gipsy  words  sent  to  Sir  Walter  Scott,  collated  with  the  Rev.  Mr. 

Baird’s  collection  .  334 

Scottish  Gipsy  words  that  bear  a  relation  to  Sanscrit .  336 

A  comparison  between  Gipsy  and  various  oriental  languages .  337 

The  language  of  the  Gipsies  mixed — How  it  has  got  corrupted .  338 

Rev.  Mr.  Baird’s  remarks  thereon— The  language  of  the  Gipsies  in 

the  Scottish  Highlands .  »338 

The  Sclavonic  in  the  Gipsy  language — Variations  iu  the  Gipsy  of 

different  countries .  »338 

The  Gipsies  supposed  to  originate  in  India — The  tribe  originally 

thieves  and  robbers .  339 

The  Nuts,  or  Bazegurs,  supposed  to  be  the  parent  stock  of  the  Gip¬ 
sies  .  339 

See  Disquisition  on  the  Gipsies .  431-433 

LINLITHGOWSHIRE  GIPSIES. 

The  Gipsies  of  this  county  more  daring  than  the  other  bands  in 
Scotland .  123 


328 

328 


329 


329 


G66 


INDEX. 


FAOH 

They  take  up  their  quarters  near  the  Bridge  of  Linlithgow .  123 

Their  sagacity — The  district  populous — Much  business  passes  through 

it . .  124 

The  names  of  the  tribe — They  have  no  connection  with  native  va¬ 
grants .  124 

Their  occupations— Horses,  music,  feasting,  and  dancing .  124 

The  Gipsies  very  civil  and  honest  with  their  neighbours,  but  plunder 

others  at  a  distance . . .  124 

A  Gipsy  unintentionally  attempts  to  rob  his  own  clergyman .  »124 

The  tribe  form  strong  attachments  to  individuals  of  the  community.  125 

Terrific  fighting  among  themselves,  on  dividing  their  spoil .  125 

Their  children  attend  school — None  dare  taunt  them,  or  their  pa¬ 
rents,  though  thieves  and  robbers .  125 

The  magistrates  of  Linlithgow  dare  not  interfere  with  the  tribe .  126 

They  play  with  them  at  golf,  and  admit  them  to  social  meetings  aDd 

dinnerparties .  126 

The  authorities  being  passive,  the  Gipsies  plunder  at  pleasure .  127 

The  chief  of  the  tribe  taken  off,  when  attempting  highway  robbery..  127 
His  funeral  attended  by  the  magistrates,  and  other  people  of  respect¬ 
ability . * .  128 

The  Gipsy  mode  of  burying  the  dead .  128 

The  deceased  chieftain  succeeded  by  his  son,  who  exceeds  him  iu  uu- 

dacity  and  daring .  129 

The  baud  very  numerous,  having  lieutenants,  like  a  military  com¬ 
pany  .  129 

Appearance,  acquirements,  and  habits  of  the  new  chieftain,  and  his 

brother  in-law .  129 

By  means  of  trained  horses,  the  chief  plays  many  tricks .  129 

Description  of  his  wife,  and  for  what  she  was  greatly  respected..  130,  137 
The  Gipsies  protect  their  friends,  but  vindictively  torment  their 

enemies .  130 

Peculiarities  of  the  Gipsies  in  the  matter  of  robbing  people— Gipsy 

passports .  131 

The  chief  and  bis  brother-in-law  condemned  to  be  hung .  133 

Threatened  rescue  by  the  tribe — Precautions  taken,  133 — Execution 

of  the  criminals .  135 

The  chief’s  wife  before,  and  after,  the  execution — Touching  and  terri¬ 
ble  scenes .  .  135,  136 

Attempted  resuscitation  of  the  bodies — They  are  interred  in  the 

church-yard  of  Linlithgow .  137 

They  are  torn  up  by  the  populace,  and  buried  in  a  moor,  in  the  neigh¬ 
bourhood  .  137 

The  chief  divorced  from  his  first  wife,  over  a  horse,  sacrificed  for  the 

occasion .  137 

Her  character,  and  that  of  her  successor,  who  continues  her  old  prac¬ 
tices  .  137 

She  returns  to  a  friend  a  purse,  stojen  by  the  tribe  in  a  fair .  138 

Her  two  nephews  pursued,  tried,  and  executed  for  robbing  the  mail .  139 

Sizes  of  these  two  Gipsies — Mixed  Gipsies  a  strong  race  of  men  ....  »139 
LOCHGELLIE  once  the  headquarters  of  Gipsies,  140 — Description  of  the 

neighbourhood,  141 — Scenes  among  the  Lochgellie  Gipsies.  159,  167,  295 

LOCHMABEN  is  said,  by  James  Hogg,  to  be  stocked  with  Gipsies .  «381 

MACAULAY,  LORD 

John  Bunyan’s  tribe  and  nationality,  507,  516 — The  Pilgrim’s  Prog¬ 
ress  .  514 

McLAURtN’S  CRIMINAL  TRIALS. 

He  speaks  of  John  Faw,  “  Earl  of  Little  Egypt,”  as  “  this  peer”  . . .  107 

On  the  trial  of  William  Baillie,  in  1714,  204 — On  the  mercy  shown  to 

James  Baillie .  218 

MARRIAGE  CEREMONIES  OF  THE  GIPSIES. 

The  Gipsies  all  marry  young — Few  or  no  illegitimate  children  among 
them . ." . .  257 


INDEX. 


567- 


page 

A  Gipsy  stabs  another,  for  seducing  his  sister,  who  is  afterwards 

married  to  him .  257 

The  virtue  of  young  Spanish  Gipsy  females — They  are  dressed  in  a 

kind  of  drapery .  »257 

Gipsy  courtships — The  younger  sister  not  married  before  the  elder  . .  258 

The  Gipsy  multiplication  table — The  Gipsies  obey  one  of  the  divine 

laws  at  least .  7)258 

A  parallel  between  the  ancient  Hindoos  and  the  Jews  during  the 

time  of  Laban .  259 

The  nuptial  ceremony  of  the  Gipsies  of  great  antiquity,  and  one  the 

longest  to  be  observed . .  259 

Marriage  customs  generally — Those  of  the  Gipsies  should  be  made 

public .  260 

Sir  Walter  Scott  not  squeamish  about  delicacies,  when  knowledge  is 

to  be  acquired .  260 

The  ideas  of  prudes  and  snobs  on  this  chapter .  »260 

fp  l  .  ,  V  O  ^  i  .  t  I  .  .  1  .  /  I  ■  n  a  a*  m  »■  a  ..  .  A  n  r.  »  n  . ^  a  a  .  1  .  .  .  n  a.  .  l  .  A  .  ]  tt  t?  A  O  A?  O 


The  Spanish  Gipsy  marriage  ceremouy,  according  to  Bright,  »261 — 

and  Borrow .  7i262 

Singular  marriage  customs  among  other  tribes — “Hand-fasting” 

among  Scottish  Highland  chiefs .  w262 

Recent  instances  of  Scottish  Gipsy  marriages,  263 — A  Gipsy  on  the 

Presbyterian  form  of  marriage .  »264 

Bescription  of  Peter  Robertson,  a  famous  celebrator  of  Gipsy  mar¬ 
riages  .  264 

In  his  will,  he  gives  away,  during  his  life,  more  than  a  county,  but 
reserves  to  himself  a  “  pendicle,"  and  the  town  of  Dunfermline....  265 

Remarks  on  rams  and  rams’  horns .  »265 

The  Gipsy  priest  given  to  good  ale,  and  chastising  his  tribe  without 

mercv .  266 

MILLER,  HUGH,  on  the  slavery  of  Scotch  colliers  and  salters .  »121 

MINSTRELSY  OF  THE  SCOTTISH  BORDER. 

The  Scott  clan  agree  to  give  up  all  friendship  with  common  thieves,  Ac.  113 
Song  of  “  Johnny  Faa,  the  Gipsy  Laddie,”*  239 — Of  “  Hughie  the 

Graeme  ” .  807 

MIRACLES. 


There  is  no  miracle  in  the  existence  of  the  Jews  since  the  dispersion  458, 

459,  494,  533 


They  are  to  be  found  in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  only .  494 

They  are  things  that  are  contrary  to  natural  laws .  533 


It  would  have  been  a  miracle  had  the  Jews  been  lost  among  mankind  533 
MIXTURE  OF  GIPSY  BLOOD.  .  9,  »80,  »92,  341,  342,  374,  377-379,  399,  468 

MIXED  GIPSIES,  PECULIARITIES  OF  10, /»195,  372,  373,  375,  377,  381-385, 
395,  397,  403,  412,  414,  427,  451,  455,  460-462,  470,  472,  498,  499,  508,  »509,  532 

391, 


MOSES. 

His  difficulties  in  inducing  the  Jews  to  undertake  the  Exodus .  16 

The  difference  between  his  rank  and  that  of  Jesus  Christ .  16,  486 

The  character  of  Moses,  18 — His  troubles  after  leaving  Egypt .  20 

How  he  apparently  got  rid  of  the  “  mixed  multitude  ”  that  followed  him  20 
OCCUPATIONS  OF  THE  GIPSIES  GENERALLY  124,  182,  215,  225,  226, 

228,  234,  246,  347,  353,  401,  467 

OFFOR,  GEORGE,  (Editor  of  Bunyan’s  works). 

He  avoids  the  Gipsies — His  advice  to  the  editor — He  says  Mr.  Hoy- 

land  was  led  captive  by  a  Gipsy  girl .  »380 

What  he  says  about  John  Bunyan .  515 

OWEN,  JOHN,  how  he  respected  and  appreciated  John  Bunyan .  521 

PARE,  MUNGO:  Marriage  customs  among  the  natives  of  Africa .  *260 


♦The  song  of  “Johnny  Faa,  the  Gipsy  Laddie,”  appears  in  the  Waverly  anecdotes. 
It  might  have  been  included  in  the  Minstrelsy  of  the  Scottish  Border. 


5G8 


INDEX. 


PA M 

PASSES. 

The  system  of  Passes  among  the  Gipsies .  218 

The  use  of  passes  granted  to  the  friends  of  the  Gipsies  among  the 

community .  130,  131.  158,  159,  199 

PENNECUIK,  DR.  ALEXANDER 

He  alludes  to  the  Gipsies  in  his  poems  and  history  of  Tweed-dale  . . .  185 

He  gives  a  description  of  a  Gipsy  battle,  at  Romanno .  188 

He  erects  a  dove-cot  on  the  spot,  to  commemorate  the  battle .  189 

PHILOLOGISTS  AND  THE  GIPSY  LANGUAGE. .  25,  56,  60,  291,  337,  338 

PILGRIM’S  PROGRESS,  THE 

What  Lord  Macaulay  says  of  it,  514 — What  Bunyau  himself  wrote 

of  it .  517 

PONS  ASSINORUM,  THE,  OF  THE  GIPSY  QUESTION . «383 

POPULATION  OF  THE  GIPSIES .  61,  77,  93,  297,  316,  367,  416,  493 

PRESENT  CONDITION  AND  NUMBER  OF  THE  GIPSIES  IN  SCOTLAND. 
Every  author  represents  the  Gipsies  as  all  remarkably  dark  in  their 

appearance .  341 

The  Scottish  Gipsies  of  all  colours — Fair-haired  Gipsies  in  Finland 

and  Arabia .  341 

Children  stolen  and  incorporated  with  the  tribe — How  its  appearance 

has  been  changed . 342 

Peculiarity  of  mixing  “  the  blood  ”  with  native,  in  England .  »342 

Gipsies  formerly  employed  in  Scotland  as  constables,  peace-officers, 

and  “  country-keepers ” . 343 

The  peculiarities  of  the  tribe  in  such  capacities — They  make  matters 

a  great  deal  worse .  344 

Impressments  during  the  American  and  French  wars  greatly  break 

up  the  Gipsy  bands .  344 

The  tribe  desert  the  ranks  on  landing  in  America .  «345 

The  Gipsies  prefer  self-mutilation  toaimpressment .  345 

Sir  Walter  Scott  meets  a  Prussian  Gipsy  soldier,  a  sentinel  in  Paris.  «346 
The  Gipsies  accept  the  bounty  and  desert — Burns’  “Jolly  Beggars:” 

“My  bonny  lass,  I  work  in  brass.” .  «346 

The  Gipsies  are  now  crockery-dealers,  horse-dealers?  and  innkeep¬ 
ers;  coopers,  shoemakers,  plumbers,  and  masons;  tinsmiths,  braz¬ 
iers,  cutlers,  bell-hangers,  umbrella-menders,  and  chimney-sweeps, 

347 — constables  in  large  and  small  towns,  female  servants,  lady’s 
maids  and  housekeepers;  ginger-bread  dealers,  crockery,  japan, 

and  white-iron  hawkers,  Ac .  348 

English  Gipsy  constables — A  Scottish  clergyman  married  to  a  Gipsy.  n348 
A  travelling  Gipsy  jeweller,  disguised  as  a  sailor,  offers  for  sale  “a 
valuable  gold  watch,  that  cost  him  not  less  than  ten  francs.” — “  Do 
not  attempt  to  cheat  us  in  this  manner” — The  “sailor”  makes  his 
exit  dancing,  and  twirling  his  bludgeon,  in  the  manner  of  his  tribe  348 
Thimble-riggers,  tinkers,  dealers  in  horn  spoons— “  Did  you  ever 


make  horn  spoons?” .  350 

Popular  ideas  of  Gipsies,  and  their  numbers — Sir  Walter  Scott’s 

opinion  ..  .  350 

“  Tinklers  and  vagabonds,”  since  the  peace  of  1815 .  350 

The  Gipsies  at  St.  Boswell’s,  352 — An  Asiatic  camp  to  be  seen  after 

the  fair .  353 

Description  of  the  tinkering  Gipsies,  at  present  in  Scotland .  353 

The  hardy  constitution  of  the  Gipsy  race  in  resisting  the  elements. .  «354 
Itinerant  Gipsies— difficulty  in  pleasing  them  with  hot  rolls — Gipsy 

beggars  in  towns .  355 

Travelling  singing  Gipsy  impostors,  355 — Gipsy  mock  country 

labourers . _ . .  356 

Irish  Gipsies  in  Scotland — A  Gipsy  woman  gives  birth  to  a  child  in 

the  open  fields . 356 

Irish  Gipsies  in  Eng  and — They  are  disliked  by  their  English  and 
Scottish  brethren .  »357 


INDEX. 


569 


PAG! 

Irish  Gipsy  mechanics  in  Edinburgh,  England,  and  the  United  States  358 
Infanticide  among  the  Gipsies — The  tribe  physically,  n.358 — Female 

Gipsy  recklessness .  »359 

The  Gipsies  charged  with  cowardice — The  Scottish  Gipsies  make  ex¬ 
cellent  soldiers .  359 

The  Gipsies  employed  by  European  governments,  as  soldiers,  w359, 

and  spies .  n.360 

An  interesting  meeting  between  a  French  and  Spanish  Gipsy,  in  the 

heat  of  a  battle .  ra360 

Supposed  danger  from  Gipsies  in  time  of  war  equally  applicable  to 

Jews  and  Freemasons .  »360 

Scottish  Gipsies  distinguished  for  gratitude,  in  return  for  civility  and 

kindness . 360 

“Terrible,”  a  Gipsy  chief,  offers  to  sell  his  all,  to  get  a  farmer  out  of 

prison .  361 

Terrible’s  opinion  of  “writers”  and  lairds,  but  especially  of  the 

writers .  362 

The  feelings  of  the  Gipsies  in  regard  to  the  prejudice  that  exists 

against  them .  »362 

Terrible’s  character — His  mother  a  witch — He  believed  she  could  have 

set  the  farmer  free . 363 

The  character  of  Gipsy  chiefs  generally — Education  among  the  Scot¬ 
tish  Gipsies .  364 

How  a  Gipsy  child  became  “spoiled,”  364 — Education  among  the 

Spanish  Gipsies,  n — Female  Gipsies .  «365 

Neglect  of  females  among  the  Jews — A  Jew’s  morning  prayer . m365 

Keligiou  among  the  Scottish  Gipsies,  365— Their  general  political  sen¬ 
timents . 366 

Grellmann  on  the  religion  of  the  Gipsies — Mr.  Borrow  preaches  to 

them  in  Spain .  w366 

The  number  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland — Gipsies  in  all  the  towns,  and 

many  of  the  villages .  367 

Few  Gipsies  now  hanged — Their  present  punishment — They  cannot 

fail  to  encrease .  n367 

The  civilization  and  improvement  of  the  Gipsies — An  Hungarian 

nobleman’s  opinion .  367 

The  restless  nature  of  the  Gipsies — How  it  is  manifested .  «368 

The  language  of  the  Gipsies  should  be  published,  and  the  tribe  en¬ 
couraged  to  speak  it  openly .  369 

The  plan  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Crabb,  m368,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Baird  for  the 

civilization  of  the  Gipsies .  »369 

The  difficulty  in  distinguishing  some  of  the  tribe  from  common 

natives .  «369 

The  Gipsies  marry  among  themselves,  like  the  Jews,  and  “stick  to 

each  other.” .  369 

PRINCIPAL  GIPSY  FAMILIES  IN  SCOTLAND. 


Faw . 101,  nll>3,  106,  107,  108,  ?ill3,  118,  121,  188,  236,  250,  252,  255,  406 

Baillie. .  .101,  »103,  118,  119,  120,  121,  185,  186,  188,  196,  197,  202-208,212, 

213,  215,  219,  236,  411 

PRITCHARD  on  the  Hungarian  race,  past  and  present .  413 

PROPHECIES. 

“  Scattering  of  the  Egyptians,”  Ezek.  xxix.  12-14,  and  xxx.  10,  23 

and  26 .  40 

“  A  people  that  are  to  provoke  and  anger  the  Jews,”  Deut.  xxxii.  21, 

and  Rom.  x.  19 . »491,533 

PYRENEES,  The  Gipsies  of  the,  resemble  the  inferior  class  of  Scottish 

Gipsies .  86 

QUAKERS. 

Gipsy-Quakers,  or  Quaker-Gipsies . «380 

The  result  of  their  society  being  dissolved .  448 

The  nature  of  the  perpetuation  of  their  existence .  494 


570 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

QUEENSFERRY,  NORTH 

Stylish  habits  of  Gipsy  plunderers  at  the  inn  at .  171 

Fashionable  cavalcade  of  female  Gipsies  departing  from .  173 

The  boatmen  and  their  friends — “  the  lads  that  take  the  purses” .  173 

Gipsv  scenes  at .  288,  294 

QUEENSFERRY,  SOUTH 

Adventure  of  a  Gipsy  with  an  ox  at .  148 

Gipsy  scenes  at .  356 

RELIGION  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES  52,  73,  »74,  87,  »89,  161,  183,  226,  248, 

365,  n366,  475,  477,  478,  502 

ROME,  THE  CHURCH  OF. 

The  seventy  years  schism — Three  Popes  anathematizing  each  other. .  32 

The  Gipsies  tolerated  in  the  dominions  of  the  Church,  "for  the  sake  of 

gain. . . .  75 

The  Gipsies  despised  and  tolerated  by  the  Church,  in  Spain .  395 

The  attempted  conversion  of  the  Jews  to  the  superstitions  and  impos¬ 
tures  of  Rome .  502 

ST.  BOSWELL’S,  The  author’s  visits  to  the  fairs  at — Gipsy  scenes,  93,  309,  352 

ST.  JAMES  on  the  gratitude  of  wild  animals .  435 

ST.  PAUL  before  the  Jewish  Council — Gamaliel’s  advice  on  the  persecu¬ 
tion  of  Christians . »494 

“SCOTSMAN”  NEWSPAPER;  Lament  on  the  death  of  Will  Faa,  king  of 

the  Scottish  Gipsies,  in  October,  1847 . . . . .  255 

SCOTT,  SIR  WALTER. 

His  judicious  advice  to  the  author  regarding  this  work.. .  .5,  59,  60,  67,  291 
The  Gipsy  language  a  “  great  mystery,”  24,  58 — His  intended  publi¬ 
cation  on  the  Gipsies . 25 

He  urges  an  enquiry  into  the  subject  of  the  Gipsies . 25,  59 

The  original  of  Meg  Merrilies,  in  Guy  Mannering . 44,  48,  242 

An  article  on  the  Buekhaven  fishermen — The  zeal  of  an  antiquary _ «,57 

His  three  letters  to  the  author,  58-61 — His  opinion  of  the  Gipsy  lan¬ 
guage  . .  . . . 58,  60 

In  a  note  to  Quentin  Durward,  he  urges  a  publication  of  the  present 

work . 66 

His  translated  article,  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine,  on  the  Gipsies  in 

Germany . 79 

His  article  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine — An  English  Gipsy  family  arriv¬ 
ing  in  Scotland . 96 

Billy  Marshall  the  Gallowayshire  Gipsy  chief .  nliS 

In  a  letter  to  Captain  Adam  Ferguson,  he  alludes  to  the  trial  of  Ken¬ 
nedy,  a  tinker .  nl92 

He  notices  a  scuffle  and  a  murder  among  Gipsies. .  216 

His  description  of  a  Gipsy  feast .  232 

Adventure  of  a  relative  among  Gipsies — The  original  of  Meg  Mer¬ 
rilies  . 242 

His  grandfather  feasted  by  the  Gipsies  on  Charterhouse  moor .  244 

He  discovers  a  Gipsy,  when  in  the  company  of  Baillie  Smith,  of  Kelso  250 
He  is  not  squeamish  about  delicacies  when  knowledge  is  to  be  ac¬ 
quired . . . . . 59,  260 

His  idea  of  the  Scottish  Gipsy  population  greatly  erroneous,  nSOl,  350,  niU 
He  causes  his  eldest  daughter  to  sing  “  Hughie  the  Graeme”  to  the 

author . »308 

He  is  interested  in  the  Gipsies,  but  afraid  they  might  injure  bis  plan¬ 
tations  . . »309 

A  list  of  Gipsy  words  sent  to  him  for  inspection.. . . 59,  334 

He  meets  a  Prussian  Gipsy  soldier,  in  Paris .  »346 

Feudal  robbers — Extract  from  his  life  by  Lockhart .  ra410 

Highland  robbers — Fitz  James  and  Roderick  Dhu,  in  the  “  Lady  of 

the  Lake,” . . .  nil 1 

On  the  disappearance  of  the  Scottish  Gipsies .  n417 

What  he  says  about  John  Bunyan . .  515 


INDEX. 


571 


•  PAGE 

SCOTTISH  GIPSIES,  DOWN  TO  THE  YEAR  1715. 

Gipsies  supposed  to  be  in  Scotland  before  the  year  1460 .  98 

McLellan  of  Bombie  kills  a  Gipsy  chief,  and  recovers  the  Baroi  y  of 

Bombie .  98 

The  Gipsies  enter  Scotland,  from  Spain,  by  way  of  Ireland .  w98 

Armorial  bearings — Act  of  James  II.  against  vagabonds .  99 

Letter  of  James  IV.,  in  1506,  to  the  king  of  Denmark,  in  favour  of 

Anthonius  Gawino,  Earl  of  Little  Egypt .  99 

Capacity  of  the  early  Gipsies  in  passing  for  pilgrims  and  men  of  con¬ 
sequence.., .  w99 

Treaty  between  James  V.  and  John  Faw,  “Lord  and  Earl  of  Little 

Egypt,”  in  1540 .  101 

Policy  of  the  Gipsies — The  act  of  James  V.  the  starting  point  in  the 

history  of  the  Scoto-Egyptians .  wl03 

The  Gipsies  insult  James  V.,  and,  for  that  reason,  are  ordered  to 

leave  Scotland,  in  1541 .  104 

Faw’s  diplomacy  on  the  occasion .  wl06 

Death  of  James  V. — The  Gipsies  recover  their  position  with  his  suc¬ 
cessors .  107 

Remission  of  Gipsies  for  the  slaughter  of  Ninian  Small .  107 

Scottish  Gipsy  captains,  and  Spanish  Gipsy  counts .  wl07 

The  Gipsies,  at  that  time,  men  of  importance,  and  allowed  to  live 

under  their  own  laws .  107 

The  Countess  of  Cassilis  elopes  with  John  Faa .  108 

The  Gipsies  tolerated  from  1506  till  1579,  when  James  VI.  assumes  the 

government .  109 

Act  of  James  VI.  against  vagabonds  in  general,  and  the  Gipsies  in 

particular .  109 

Mode  prescribed  for  punishing  the  Gipsies  and  the  other  vagabonds 

mentioned .  110 

Statute  confirmed  in  1592,  when  the  Gipsies  are  again  referred  to. . . .  110 

Act  of  1597  against  “strong  beggars,  vagabonds,  and  Egyptians”...  110 

Coal  and  salt  masters  might  apprehend  and  put  such  to  labour .  will 

Origin  of  the  slavery  in  Scotland  which  was  abolished  during  last 

century .  will 

Gipsies  now  colliers  in  the  Lothians .  will 

Fletcher  of  Saltoun’s  estimate  of  the  beggars  and  vagabonds  in  Scot¬ 
land,  in  16S0 . will 

Act  of  1600  declares  previous  ones  ineffectual .  Ill 

Acts  of  1603  and  1609  banish  the  Gipsies  forever,  on  pain  of  death...  112 
Act  of  1617  directs  the  authorities  how  to  proceed  against  the  Gipsies  113 

Condition  of  the  Scottish  people  generally,  at  this  time .  113 

Acts  against  “famous  and  unspotted  gentlemen”  for  protecting  the 

Gipsies .  114 

Similar  acts  passed  against  the  nobility  and  commonalty  in  Spain. . .  wll4 

Gipsy  policy  and  cunning — Modifications  of  the  term  Gitano .  /»115 

Great  outward  change  in  the  Gipsies  at  that  time — Surnames  and  gen¬ 
eral  policy .  116 

English  and  German  Gipsy  and  Jewish  surnames .  nll7 

The  Gipsies  claim  bastard  kindred  with  the  Scottish  aristocracy  and 

gentry .  117 

They  have  a  profound  regard  for  aristocracy .  wll7 

Trials  and  executions  of  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland — Baron  Hume’s 

account .  117 

The  Faas  and  Baillies  the  principal  Gipsy  tribes  in  Scotland .  121 

The  influence  of  the  Baillies,  of  Lamington,  of  great  service  to  the 

Scottish  Gipsies .  121 

Proscription  of  Gipsies,  and  enslavement  of  colliers  and  salters,  in 

Scotland .  nl21 

SHEPHERD  KINGS,  Gipsies  probably  the  descendants  of  the . 20,  415 

I  SHERIFFS  OF  SCOTLAND,  their  reports  on  the  Gipsies  in  Scotland.. .  n251 


572 


INDEX. 


SKENE,  WM.  F. 

“  Iland-fasting,”  previous 
Highland  chiefs. 


to  marriage,  practised  among  Scottish 

.  ?r203 

The  plundering  principles  and  habits  of  Scottish  Highlanders .  410 

SLANG,  in  connexion  with  the  Gipsy  language,  58,  n59,  60,  281,  302,  n338,  506 

SLAVES,  the  religion  of. . ." _ . 20,  21,  51,  496,  »496 

SMITH,  ADAM,  author  of  the  “  Wealth  of  Nations,”  carried  off  by  the 

Gipsies,  when  a  child .  45 

SMITH,  BAILLIE,  OF  KELSO. 

His  contribution  to  Hoyland’s  “Survey  of  the  Gipsies,” .  245 

SMITH’S  HEBREW  PEOPLE. 

History  of  their  language  during  the  seventy  years’  captivity .  nZIS 

SOLDIERS,  Gipsies  as . 80,  182,'  208,  253,  344,  345,  ra346,  359 

SOUTHEY,  ROBERT. 

He  says  Bunyan  was  bred  to  the  business  of  a  brazier .  n.265 

On  tinkering  and  Bunyan’s  education .  512 

Bunyan’s  family  history  and  fame .  516 

He  is  unreasonable  in  styling  Bunyan  a  “  blackguard,” .  519 

SPIES,  Gipsies  as . »7 4,  n360 

STATISTICAL  ACCOUNT  OF  SCOTLAND. 

Description  of  Lochgellie,  Fifeshire,  and  the  Gipsies  settled  there...  141 

Description  of  the  Gipsies  at  Middleton,  Mid-Lothian .  341 

Allusion  to  the  Falls,  merchants,  at  Dunbar .  .  «406 

STEALING  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES,  52,  63,  72,  148,  m.155,  163,  164,  166-174, 

177,  197,  210,  211,  228,  315,  339,  364,  482 
SURNAMES  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES,  99,  101,  107,  117,  121,  124,  141,  153,  219, 

252,  7i358 

TACITUS  on  the  destruction  of  the  Druids  «479 — On  the  religion  of  slaves,  n496 

THIMBLE-RIGGERS  AND  THIMBLE-RIGGING . 319-325 

TIMOUR’S  CRUELTIES  on  over-running  India .  38 

TITLES  AMONG  THE  GIPSIES,  77,  78,  79,  90,  99,  101,  107,  »155,  169,  187, 

190,  218,  253,  k256 

TRENCK,  BARON, 

In  his  wanderings,  comes  in  contact  with  a  band  of  German  Gipsies.  86 

TWISS,  RICHARD,  on  the  religious  character  of  the  Gipsies .  73 

On  the  virtue  of  Gipsy  females,  and  honesty  of  Gipsy  innkeepers,  in 

Spain .  524 

TWEED-DALE  AND  CLYDESDALE  GIPSIES. 

Description  of  Tweed-dale,  in  the  time  of  Queen  Mary .  185 

Dr.  Pennecuik’s  works — The  Gipsies  never  had  a  permanent  habita¬ 
tion  in  the  county .  185 

The  tribe  attached  to  the  district  for  three  reasons:  1st,  the  Baillies 
claimed  it  as  their  own,  185 — 2d,  plenty  of  provisions — 3d,  freedom 

from  the  laws .  186 

Alleged  relation  of  the  Gipsies  to  the  Baillies  of  Lamington .  nl85 

Braxy— Mr.  Borrow  on  the  Gipsies  poisoning  and  eating  swine .  n.186 

Fashionable  appearance  and  mounting  of  the  Baillie  tribe— Their 

children  left  in  huts .  186 

The  Gipsies  well  treated  by  the  tenantry,  who  accept  dinners  from  them  187 
The  Baillies  specially  mentioned — They  give  kings  and  queens  to  the 

tribe .  187 

The  quarrelsome  disposition  of  the  Gipsies — “A  shower  of  horns, 

hammers,  knives,  files,  and  fiery  peats,” .  188 

Dr.  Pennecuik’s  account  of  a  Gipsy  battle  at  Romanno .  188 

He  erects  a  dove-cot  on  the  spot,  to  illustrate,  by  contrast,  the  nature 

of  the  Gipsy .  189 

The  same  battle  noticed  by  Lord  Fountainball,  in  his  MS .  189 

A  Gipsy  battle  at  Hawick — Terrific  wounds,  but  no  slain .  190 

Sir  Walter  Scott’s  allusion  to  this  battle .  nl92 

Another  and  decisive  battle  between  the  hostile  tribes,  at  Eskdale- 
moor .  193 


INDEX. 


573 


PAG* 

The  country  people  horrified  at  the  sight  of  the  wounded  Gipsies.. . .  193 

Grellmann’s  description  of  Hungarian  Gipsies  fighting .  »193 

Female  Gipsies  tight  as  well  as  males — 'Becca  Keith,  the  heroine  of 

Dumblane .  194 

The  trifling  occasions  of  Gipsies  fighting,  and  agreeing  among  them¬ 
selves  .  j»195 

The  fencibles  and  the  clergy  called  out  to  quell  and  disperse  the 

Gipsies .  »195 

Assault  of  the  Gipsies  on  Pennicuik  House .  ml95 

An  insult  offered  to  the  mother  of  the  Baillies  resented,  with  drawn 

swords .  196 

Contribution  from  Mr.  Blackwood  towards  a  history  of  the  Gipsies. . .  19(5 

Pickpockets  at  Dumfries,  headed  by  Will  Baillie— How  he  and  his 
tribe  travelled  to  fairs— He  returns  a  farmer  his  purse,  197 — The 
farmer,  when  intoxicated,  goes  to  visit  him — Baillie  pays  a  widow’s 
rent,  and  saves  her  from  ruin,  198 — He  borrows  money,  and  gives 
the  lender  a  pass  of  protection,  199 — The  pass,  after  scrutiny  by 
two  of  the  tribe,  protects  its  bearer — Baillie  repays  his  loan  with 
a  large  interest — The  “  Jock  Johnstone”  gang  of  Gipsies,  200 — 

Jock,  in  a  drunken  squabble,  kills  a  country  ale-wife — His  jack¬ 
daw  proves  a  bird  of  bad  omen  to  hitn,  and  he  a  bird  of  bad  omen 

to  his  executioner .  201 

Jock’s  execution,  as  described  bv  Dr.  Alexander  Carlyle .  ra201 

William  Baillie,  a  handsome,  well-dressed,  good-looking,  well-bred 

man,  and  an  excellent  swordsman  .  202 

Like  a  wild  Arab,  he  distributes  the  wares  of  a  trembling  packman, 
who  extols,  wherever  be  goes,  “the  extraordinary  liberality  of  Cap¬ 
tain  Baillie,” .  203 

Bruce  on  the  protection  given  by  Arabs  to  shipwrecked  Christians. . .  «203 
In  indulging  his  sarcastic  wit,  Baillie  insults  the  judge  on  the 

bench . 203 

The  deportment  of  Hungarian  Gipsies  during  and  after  punishment..  r»204 

Baillie’s  numerous  crimes  and  sentences .  204 

The  nature  of  “sorning,”  m204 — Gipsies  carried  arms  in  the  olden 

times .  «205 

Baillie’s  policy  in  claiming  kin  with  honourable  families .  205 

He  is  slain  by  one  of  the  tribe  while  in  the  arms  of  his  wife .  206 

His  murderer  pursued  by  the  tribe  over  the  British  Isles,  till  he  is  ap¬ 
prehended  and  executed .  206 

Legal  enquiry  regarding  the  slaughter  of  Baillie,  206 — The  trial  of  his 

murderers .  208 

William  Baillie  succeeded  by  Matthew  Baillie — His  descendants .  208 

Mary  Yorkston,  wife  of  Matthew  Baillie,  a  Gipsy  queen  and  priestess  208 
Her  appearance  and  costume,  un  gala  days,  when  advanced  in  years..  209 
Old  Gipsy  womeu  strip  people  of  their  clothes,  like  the  Arabs  of  the 

desert .  209 

Mary  Yoi  kston  restores  a  stolen  purse  to  a  friend — Her  husband  first 
counts  its  contents — “There  is  your  purse,  sir;  you  see  what  it  is, 

when  honest  people  meet!” .....’ .  210 

A  Gipsy  chief  chastises  his  wife  fur  want  of  diligence  or  success  at  a 

fair.. .  211 

Mary  Yorkston  and  her  particular  friend,  the  good-man  of  Coulter- 

park .  211 

She  scorns  alms,  but  demands  and  takes  by  force  a  “  boontith,” .  211 

Her  son,  James  Baillie,  condemned  and  pardoned  again  and  again.. . .  212 

The  Baillies  of  Lamingtou’s  influence  successful  in  bis  ease .  213 

Stylish  dress  of  the  male  head  of  the  Kuthvens — The  Gipsy  costume 

generally . . . .  213 

Disguises  of  the  tribe  when  plundering  in  fairs .  213 

Vidocq  on  the  disguises  of  the  Continental  Gipsies,  on  a  similar  occa¬ 
sion  .  »213 


674 


INDEX. 


PAGE 

A  couple  of  mounted  Gipsies  taken  for  men  almost  of  the  first 

quality .  214 

Straggling  Gipsies — Their  suspicious  characters — A  tinker  aud  a 

tinker’s  wife .  215 

A  quarrel  among  three  Gipsy  constables,  210 — A  murder,  a  capture, 

and  a  lamentation .  217 

One  Gipsy  constable  murdered,  another  hanged,  and  the  third  banished  218 
Great  fuliing  otf  in  the  condition  of  the  Scottish  nomadic  Gipsies. .  . .  218 

The  internal  polity  of  the  Gipsies — Their  general  system  of  passes.. .  218 

The  country  divided  into  districts,  under  a  king  and  provincial  chief¬ 
tains — The  pass  of  a  Baillie  conducts  its  hearer  over  all  Scotland.. .  219 

Surnames  among  the  Tweed-dale  Gipsies — Surnames  among  the  Eng¬ 
lish  Gipsies,  n .  219 

Travelling  Gipsies  possess  two  and  sometimes  several  names — Super¬ 
stitious  ideas  when  travelling .  219 

Present  condition  of  the  Tweed-dale  Gipsies — They  dispense  with 

tents,  but  occupy  kilns  and  outhouses .  220 

The  number  of  the  tribe  sometimes  collected  together,  220 — How  they 

are  sometimes  treated .  221 

How  the  Gipsies  approach  the  farmers’  premises,  222 — How  they  dis¬ 
guise  their  numbers .  222 

Their  hones-ty,  while  on  the  farm — The  resemblance  between  Gipsies 

and  ravens .  n223 

Personal  habits  of  the  tribe  while  in  their  encampment .  224 

The  males  remaiu  aloof,  tinkering  and  manufacturing — The  women 

vend  the  goods .  224 

Athletic  amusements  of  the  Gipsies,  224— They  despise  the  peasantry, 

but  boast  of  their  own  tribe .  225 

Their  peaceable  behaviour,  225 — They  do  not  attend  church,  or  wor¬ 
ship  any  thing  whatever .  226 

The  musical  talents  of  the  Gipsies — Their  pretensions  to  surgery — Dr. 

Duds .  226 

How  Gipsy  women  vend  their  wares,  226 — They  sometimes  take,  by 

force,  a  “  boontith,” .  227 

•  Habits  of  the  Hungarian  Gipsy  after  child-birth .  .  m227 

Mary  Yorkston  and  her  “  boontith,”  227 — Her  terrible  prediction .  228 

Recent  instances  of  “  sorning,”  or  masterful  begging,  among  the 

Scottish  Gipsies .  »228 

Gipsy  fortune-tellers,  228 — How  they  frequently  obtain  important  in¬ 
formation  .  229 

Travelling  Gipsies — Gipsy  fiddlers  at  parties — Gipsy  lady’s  maids. . . .  229 

Fortune-telling  by  palmistry  and  the'divining  cup,  230 — By  the  corn 

riddle  and  scissors .  231 

Fortune-telling  in  Kamtschatka  and  the  ancient  Eastern  nations . «230 

Fortune-telling  punishable  by  Act  of  Parliament .  »230 

Anecdote  of  a  Gipsy  woman  telling  fortunes  by  the  divining  cup .  231 

Gipsies’  meals— Sir  Walter  Scott’s  description  of  a  Gipsy  feast .  232 

The  Gipsy  mode  of  cooking  poultry  and  butcher-meat .  233 

The  Gipsy  mode  of  working  in  iron— Its  antiquity — Hungarian  Gipsy 

smiths,  n .  234 

VIDOCQ. 

On  the  disguises  and  plundering  habits  of  the  Continental  Gipsies 

»169,  w213 

WILKINSON,  SIR  J.  GARDNER. 

Thimble-rigging  among  the  ancient  Egyptians .  w325 

The  appearance  of  the  Jews  in  the  East  differs  from  that  in  Europe. .  477 

WILSON,  PROFESSOR. 

He  strolls  with  the  Gipsies  in  his  youth,  8 — Was  he  then  looking  at 

the  “  old  thing?” . 471 

He  notices  the  articles  of  the  author  in  Blackwood’s  Magazine .  66 


INDEX. 


575 


PAO* 

YETHOLM. 

Description  of  its  situation .  nl41 

The  Gipsies  of  Yetholm — Baillie  Smith’s  account,  245 — Mr.  Black 

wood’s  contribution . ; .  251 

Tradition  of  the  first  settlement  of  the  Gipsies  at  Yetholm .  n252 

The  author’s  visit  to  Yetholm .  254 

•  The  Gipsies  at  Yetholm  knock  down  their  asses,  when  they  separate 

from  their  wives .  276 

Yetholm  the  metropolis  of  Scottish  Gipsvdom,  426 — “I  come  from 
Yetholm” .  443 


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S614H 


Duke  University  Libraries 


D00498646. 


470591  . 


